COLOUR REVOLUTIONS REVISITED: RELATIVE
DEPRIVATION – THE REASON FOR THE ROSE
REVOLUTION IN GEORGIA?
Nino MACHURISHVILI
Ilia State University, School of Arts and Sciences, Tbilisi, Georgia
E-mail: nino.machurishvili.1@iliauni.edu.ge
Abastract
The aim of this paper is to review political and material deprivation as a basis for social protest during the pre – revolution period in Georgia, within the framework of Relative Deprivation theory. The linkage between relative deprivation and the Gini coefficient, as well type of existing political regime and Soviet past is considered. The originality of this paper is conditioned by the new approach to Colour Revolutions, as previous studies are considered a precondition for comprehending social protest against rigged elections, the lack of democracy. This research is based on a qualitative research methodology, the basic methodological approach being the method of the case study. Among with in – depth interviews and content analysis of academic materials, quantitative data of World Bank and Freedom House coefficients are also used. Empirical analysis proves the existence of political and material deprivation between social groups through the review of Gini coefficient data for the research period. This research shows the methodological value of considering relative deprivation in conjunction with the Gini coefficient as a more quantifiable method than existing approaches to explain the reasons for the Rose Revolution in Georgia.
Key words: colour revolutions, hybrid regime, relative deprivation, Gini coefficient