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	<title>The Open Society &#8211; ModusA</title>
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	<description>Et rettsstatlig og vitenskapelig perspektiv på sosial- og kriminalpolitikk</description>
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	<item>
		<title>The culture they can&#8217;t control: Goergia&#8217;s artists under pressure</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/the-culture-they-cant-control-goergias-artists-under-pressure/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/the-culture-they-cant-control-goergias-artists-under-pressure/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2026 20:18:37 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6927</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze, who grew up inside Georgia’s alternative scene 3 minutes reading time.  I spent my teenage years in Georgia’s underground culture, in rehearsal basements, improvised studios, and half‑lit galleries where musicians, painters, and performers created the emotional vocabulary of our generation. I was never a formal musician, but I still attempted to form [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/the-culture-they-cant-control-goergias-artists-under-pressure/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>“Elections” in “South Ossetia”</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/elections-in-south-ossetia/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/elections-in-south-ossetia/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 Sep 2026 13:39:27 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6859</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Russia’s Interference, Georgia’s Delayed Voice, and the Weight of Memory By Moreta Bobokhidze, 3 minutes reading time.  Russia has once again staged an “election” in the occupied Tskhinvali region so called South Ossetia, a territory internationally recognized as part of Georgia but controlled by Russian military forces since the 2008 war. These so‑called elections have [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/elections-in-south-ossetia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Georgia’s Summer of Democratic Strain: An Observer’s Policy Reflections From Abroad</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/georgias-summer-of-democratic-strain-an-observers-policy-reflections-from-abroad/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/georgias-summer-of-democratic-strain-an-observers-policy-reflections-from-abroad/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:43:36 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Demokratisk beredskap]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6824</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze Georgia’s summer of 2026 unfolded not as a season of political calm, but as a period of intensified democratic strain. Observing from afar, I found myself tracing developments with a mixture of analytical distance and emotional proximity; a duality familiar to many Georgians living abroad. This summer revealed not only the fragility [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/georgias-summer-of-democratic-strain-an-observers-policy-reflections-from-abroad/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Georgia is here</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/georgia-is-here/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/georgia-is-here/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 17:42:06 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Demokratisk beredskap]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6798</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Nicolay B. Johansen and Moreta Bobokhidze  A 5 minute read. A Norwegian version is published on Filter Nyheter and elsewhere in these webpages  A democratic front line runs along the entire old belt between Russia and Europe. The front line move back and forth in countries such as Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Moldova, Bulgaria, and [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/georgia-is-here/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Law Is for the Weak: Why Russians Have No Respect for the Law</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/law-is-for-the-weak-why-russians-have-no-respect-for-the-law/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/law-is-for-the-weak-why-russians-have-no-respect-for-the-law/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2026 21:25:41 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Demokratisk beredskap]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Det åpne samfunn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Notater]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6761</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Produced by Elvira Bary. This lecture was published on YouTube (13 August 2026).  You are reading a transcript with some omissions. The material is reproduced with the permission of the author. A Norwegian translation is accessible here. 3000 words. Introduction  Bary is a fiction writer who grew up in the Soviet Union and now lives [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/law-is-for-the-weak-why-russians-have-no-respect-for-the-law/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
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		<item>
		<title>Europe Draws a Red Line: Georgia’s Democratic Breakdown Can No Longer Be Ignored</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/europe-draws-a-red-line-georgias-democratic-breakdown-can-no-longer-be-ignored/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/europe-draws-a-red-line-georgias-democratic-breakdown-can-no-longer-be-ignored/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2026 14:15:09 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6620</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze, 5 minutes reading time On 17 June 2026, the European Parliament issued its strongest response to Georgia in decades, voting with overwhelming support to impose targeted sanctions on officials deemed responsible for dismantling democratic institutions, constraining civil society, and deepening political alignment with Russia. The resolution marked a decisive shift in the [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/europe-draws-a-red-line-georgias-democratic-breakdown-can-no-longer-be-ignored/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
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		<item>
		<title>Beyond the Post‑Soviet Horizon: How Armenia’s Choice Echoes Across a Region Still Fighting for Democracy</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/beyond-the-post%e2%80%91soviet-horizon-how-armenias-choice-echoes-across-a-region-still-fighting-for-democracy/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/beyond-the-post%e2%80%91soviet-horizon-how-armenias-choice-echoes-across-a-region-still-fighting-for-democracy/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:45:29 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6538</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze. Reading time: 5 min.  As a Georgian woman who has lived through the rise and decline of my own country’s democratic experiments, I cannot look at Armenia’s recent election without seeing the deeper structural forces that shape political life in the South Caucasus. Armenia’s renewed mandate for president Nikol Pashinyan is being [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/beyond-the-post%e2%80%91soviet-horizon-how-armenias-choice-echoes-across-a-region-still-fighting-for-democracy/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<item>
		<title>A New Patriarch Was Elected in Georgia. The Power Struggle Continues</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/a-new-patriarch-was-elected-in-georgia-the-power-struggle-continues/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/a-new-patriarch-was-elected-in-georgia-the-power-struggle-continues/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2026 08:10:10 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6491</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze, 4 minutes reading time The election of a new Patriarch by the “Holy Synod” harbors huge consequences for Georgian history. It has been framed as a dignified moment of spiritual continuity, yet anyone who has lived through the country’s recent history knows that this transition carries far more weight than the Church’s [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/a-new-patriarch-was-elected-in-georgia-the-power-struggle-continues/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
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		<title>Zelensky’s South Caucasus Visit Marks a New Phase in Regional Relations</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/zelenskys-south-caucasus-visit-marks-a-new-phase-in-regional-relations/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/zelenskys-south-caucasus-visit-marks-a-new-phase-in-regional-relations/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 07:12:51 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6451</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze, ModusA Front: Picture from happier relations between Ukraine and Georgia, the inauguration of President Zelensky accompanied former georgian president in 2019 (Wikimedia Commons). Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Armenia, the first by a Ukrainian president in more than twenty years, felt like a moment when the political map of the South Caucasus shifted [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/zelenskys-south-caucasus-visit-marks-a-new-phase-in-regional-relations/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
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		<item>
		<title>Hungary Has Changed — What Does Orbán’s Fall Mean for Georgia?</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/hungary-has-changed-what-does-orbans-fall-mean-for-georgia/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/hungary-has-changed-what-does-orbans-fall-mean-for-georgia/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:20:02 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6193</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze, 4 minutes reading time Hungary’s 2026 election felt like a political earthquake across Europe, but for me, watching it as a Georgian, it carried an even deeper resonance. When Viktor Orbán’s sixteen‑year rule came to an end, it was not just a Hungarian story, it was a reminder that even the most [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/hungary-has-changed-what-does-orbans-fall-mean-for-georgia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
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		<item>
		<title>Russia Did It: 9 April 1989 and the Long Punishment of a Free Nation</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/russia-did-it-9-april-1989-and-the-long-punishment-of-a-free-nation/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/russia-did-it-9-april-1989-and-the-long-punishment-of-a-free-nation/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:16:46 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6164</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze, 3 minutes reading time On 9 April 1989, the Soviet empire showed its true face in Tbilisi. Peaceful demonstrators, students, young women, ordinary citizens stood on Rustaveli Avenue demanding nothing more radical than freedom. Moscow responded with troops armed with sharpened spades, gas, and orders to crush. The spades were used to [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/russia-did-it-9-april-1989-and-the-long-punishment-of-a-free-nation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>Women’s Month in Georgia</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/womens-month-in-georgia/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/womens-month-in-georgia/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Mar 2026 20:38:32 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6134</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze, ModusA Reading time, 4 minutes Across Georgia, the arbitrary arrest and prosecution of women activists, journalists, and opposition leaders has become a defining marker of the country’s accelerating authoritarian drift. These cases are not isolated; they form a deliberate pattern of gendered repression aimed at silencing women who challenge power. As Women’s [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/womens-month-in-georgia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		
		
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		<title>A time for heroes</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/a-time-for-heroes/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/a-time-for-heroes/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Mar 2026 14:02:23 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6114</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze, ModusA and Nicolay. B. Johansen, LovUrett Reading time: 5 minutes In a series of recent rulings, Georgian courts have acquitted several political protesters accused of possessing large quantities of narcotics. This news raises the question of whether this is a sign of cracks in the power structure of the emerging autocratic regime. [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/a-time-for-heroes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>Abolishing Georgian universities? The strangling of Georgian civil society continues</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/abolishing-georgian-universities-the-strangling-of-georgian-civil-society-continues/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/abolishing-georgian-universities-the-strangling-of-georgian-civil-society-continues/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Feb 2026 09:06:44 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=6043</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze Reading: 6 minutes Recently, news broke that Georgian authorities were abolishing several courses at the country&#8217;s universities. Many people reacted with disbelief and protest. However, the situation is more tense, complex, and much more specific than the idea of “abolishing universities”. What is actually happening is a far-reaching restructuring of how universities [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/abolishing-georgian-universities-the-strangling-of-georgian-civil-society-continues/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
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		<title>ECHR Decision on Human Rights Violations in Georgia</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/echr-decision-on-human-rights-violations-in-georgia/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/echr-decision-on-human-rights-violations-in-georgia/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 16:28:17 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=5902</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[By Moreta Bobokhidze, ModusA, 3 minutes reading.  On 11 December 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered a landmark judgment in Tsaava and Others v. Georgia, finding that the Georgian authorities violated three fundamental rights under the European Convention on Human Rights during the dispersal of the June 2019 protests in Tbilisi. The case [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/echr-decision-on-human-rights-violations-in-georgia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		
		
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		<item>
		<title>What is it possible to learn from democracies that “die”?</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/what-is-it-possible-to-learn-from-democracies-that-die/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/what-is-it-possible-to-learn-from-democracies-that-die/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2025 21:50:06 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=5776</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen, Lov/Urett Long read. 5 parts.  Is democracy in danger? The award-winning authors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt pose the question in their book, «How democracies die&#171;. The book ultimately became a bestseller and is now considered a classic on the topic of democracy&#8217;s vulnerability. Together with Timothy Snyder and David Runciman, among [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.modusa.no/what-is-it-possible-to-learn-from-democracies-that-die/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>What now, when the United States is no longer a democracy?</title>
		<link>https://www.modusa.no/what-now-when-the-united-states-is-no-longer-a-democracy/</link>
					<comments>https://www.modusa.no/what-now-when-the-united-states-is-no-longer-a-democracy/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nicolay B. Johansen]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2025 20:02:42 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Open Society]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.modusa.no/?p=5765</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[8 months into Trump&#8217;s second term as president, we must establish that he is serious about abolishing democracy. So, what to do? The words he blurted out during the election campaigns should be understood literally. He asked people to vote for him, because then they would not have to vote several times. And on another [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
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