A brief description of the experience
Ph.D. in Political Science from GIPA University and an M.A. in International Relations from Yale University. His work record in addition to academia spans private and public sectors as well as local and international experience. Immediately after graduating from Yale Bakur Kvashilava worked as a Researcher in the G-ECON Project (Yale University) under a direct supervision of Nobel prize winner Professor William D. Nordhaus. Before starting graduate studies at Yale he served as a Referent in the Foreign Policy Group in the President’s Office of Georgia. After returning to Georgia he was invited to Georgia Foundations for Security and International Studies (GFSIS – currently, Rondeli Foundation) to give a full lecture course on Political Risk Analysis. At the same time, he was representing ExxonMobil in Georgia. Later he started to serve in the OSCE Mission to Georgia while commencing to teach International Relations at GIPA University where he was bacame the Dean of School of Law and Politics in 2007. Besides teaching he is actively involved in various initiatives that aim at democratization through political party strengthening inititaives mainly in Georgia but outside the country as well. These include: strategic planning, political platform building, programmatic guidance, organizational management, issues of inclusion and electoral system reforms. In this and related areas he has conducted various needs assesment analysis, evaluations, participated in strategic planning and conducted trainings at the behest of national authorities and international organizations. He is the author of a number of academic articles, book chapters, opinion articles, and policy documents in these areas.
Courses:
- International Relations
- Comparative Politics
- Country and Political Risk Analysis
- Researc Methods
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Introduction to Public Policy
- Foreign Policy of the United States
Research and Publications:
Money For Nothing? The Trends and Patterns of Political Finance Regulation and Party System Development in Georgia– A chapter co-authored with Levan Tsutskiridze in “Money Rules: Parties, Oligarchs and Funding Regulation in Post-Soviet Countries” Routledge ISBN 978-1032-22-342-1 To be released on April 1, 2024
Electoral Systems and Their Influence on Development of Political Parties in Georgia –A chapter in “The Political Landscape of Georgia” 2nd Edition: Tbilisi 2020. ISBN 978-9941-31-261-8
Development of Programs of Georgian Political Parties (2008-2016) –A chapter co-authored with Zviad Barkaia in “The Political Landscape of Georgia” 2nd Edition: Tbilisi 2020. ISBN 978-9941-31-261-8
Needs Assessment of Civil Society Organizations in Georgia – The EWMI ACCESS funded policy paper with Khatia Gogilashvili and Zviad Barkaia. January 9, 2020. http://ewmi-access.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CSO-ASSESSMENT_ENG_FInal.pdf
The Political Constraints of Civil Service Reform: in Georgia: History, Current Affairs, Prospects, and Challenges. Caucasus Survey. Volume 7, Issue 3, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1080/23761199.2019.1693238
Projects:
Besides the initiatives enumerated above he participated as a professor in two Ersamus+ (formerly, Tempus) projects where GIPA was a partner -- PROMIG | Welcome (tsu.edu.ge). He is an Academic Coordinator of an ongoing Ersamus+ inititiative where GIPA is the lead university.
Research interests:
Country/Political Risk Analysis, democratic reforms and regime transformations, Democratic Peace, political systems and parties, constitutions and electoral engineering, elections, strategic planning, situational analysis, and project/program evaluations.
