Authors

Discussion

This paper investigates the agency driving the delivery of Georgia's Culture Strategy 2016–2025, a central policy commitment in the cultural sector of Georgia intended to further the country’s European integration. Engaging a policy mobilities scholarship, it critically examines established frameworks for EU policy export, the criteria used to assess these policies, and the impacts of embedded power imbalances. The study draws on a series of expert interviews conducted in 2024, both in Tbilisi, Georgia, and online with individuals previously involved in the strategy’s development, and on policy analysis, including the strategy document itself and relevant agreements and reports.

Georgia’s aspirations for EU membership have significantly influenced its cultural landscape, particularly in Tbilisi, where resources and knowledge exchange are concentrated. International funding and agreements have been scaffolding the cultural sector's development, with the Culture Strategy designed to embed EU values within the national cultural policy framework. Although the strategy team adhered to formal procedures and secured government approval for the document, it was never fully implemented. Political shifts led to the strategy’s marginalisation, and much of its related material was withdrawn from public access. This case exemplifies potential policy failure, raising questions about the contextualisation of circulating policymaking practices. However, shifting the focus from the strategy itself to the overlooked impacts of its delivery challenges the criteria for policy evaluation. Furthermore, it highlights a disruption in previously accepted power asymmetries in the production and export of 'Europeanness' narratives to the so-called 'periphery' of the EU. This research contributes to discussions on the rise of decolonial thinking in the region, the complexities of Europeanisation in Georgia, and the dynamics of policy circulation beyond traditional Global North–South divides.