The impact of urban protest in post-socialist Tbilisi: beyond the binary of success/failure

Abstract

This study aims to understand the varying impact of urban social movements in post-socialist Tbilisi. Two urban social movements were selected for this research, (1) ‘Defend Vake Park and (2) ‘No to Panorama Tbilisi!’, which earlier studies have respectively labelled as cases of success and failure. This thesis, however, seeks to go beyond the binary distinction of success/failure and, instead, asks what ideals, discourse and practices have survived and flourished after the decline of the urban social movement. Hence, it bridges cultural studies and the study of (urban) social movements, perceiving impact as the meaning-making processes that are shaped by the movements’ participants. Through ten in-depth semi-structured interviews with participants of the two selected movements, this study shows how multifaceted urban protests are in Georgia’s capital, and how strengths and weaknesses of urban social movements transcends the analysis of whether the stated goals were achieved. It provides a richer and more nuanced perspective on the outcomes of urban social movements in a context conditioned by a post-socialist legacy.