Episode Details

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Guest: Khatia Dekanoidze, former Education Minister of Georgia and former Chief of Ukraine’s National Police.

01:05 – Introducing the Guest

03:31 – How she came across How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa, why she decided to translate it into Georgian, and what she is translating next.

08:04 – Khatia Dekanoidze’s path to police reform in Georgia and Ukraine. Which was more difficult?

22:07 – What would she do differently if she were reforming the police and other law enforcement agencies today? And what does the Gori incident reveal about the state of the Georgian police?

33:03 – Current affairs: the alleged spy scandal and the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ so-called “censorship department.” Is Ivanishvili a spin dictator, and how does he use propaganda to maintain his power?

43:26 – The Saakashvili–Melia “war of letters”: who benefits, where it is heading, and how the opposition can regain momentum and challenge Ivanishvili’s rule.

54:32 – Regional geopolitics: developments on the battlefield in Ukraine, growing U.S. and European engagement in the Caucasus, Armenia’s critical elections, Russia’s attempts to meddle, and Georgia’s place in a changing region.