Stephen Jones

Professor Stephen Jones is a senior researcher in the Program on Georgian Studies at the Davis Center, Harvard University. He served as the Program’s founding director from 1921 until summer 2024. He received his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Are we witnessing revolution in Georgia? Pro-EU protests sweep the nation

The Georgian Dream government tried shifting to Russia – but now faces a popular uprising and constitutional crisis

By Stephen Jones

/ 3 Dec 2024

Are we witnessing revolution in Georgia? Pro-EU protests sweep the nation

From Tbilisi to Washington, there's too much focus on elections

Recent elections in Georgia and the US show that elections alone are poor indicators of democracy, and need to be supplemented with other methods of economic and political empowerment.

By Stephen Jones

/ 2 Dec 2020

From Tbilisi to Washington, there's too much focus on elections

The fate of Georgian dreams

Amid widespread apathy and corruption, Georgia’s democracy faces all too familiar obstacles.

By Stephen Jones

/ 18 Oct 2016

Agreement by association: Georgia edges closer to Europe

Georgia’s signing of the Association Agreement with the EU has been welcomed by the country’s people and its elite, but it will likely not be the panacea they hope.

By Stephen Jones

/ 19 Mar 2015

Kakha Bendukidze and Georgia’s failed experiment

Kakha Bendukidze died in November 2014 at the age of 58. Bendukidze directed the whirlwind of economic reform that characterised Georgia from 2004 to 2008-2009.

By Stephen Jones

/ 2 Jan 2015

South Ossetia’s unwanted independence

South Ossetians may yearn for union with Russia, but the complicated political realities of the South Caucasus make this an unlikely prospect.

By Stephen Jones

/ 10 Jun 2014

Georgia through a glass, darkly

Since the break-up of the USSR, the South Caucasus has trodden a chequered path, both political and economic. Is democracy really what the people want? Or just what Western donors and investors think they should have? Stephen F Jones reflects

By Stephen Jones

/ 18 Nov 2013