Georgia Compare And Contrast Essay

Turkey and Georgia both have semi-presidential systems. A large difference between the two Governments is the amount of power the president holds. In Georgia, the majority of the power resides with the prime minister. The prime minister is the head of government with full executive authority over domestic and foreign affairs. The president is the head of state, but cannot legislate nor propose a state budget. By implementing these stipulations for the president, Georgia has decreased the corruption that is found within this branch. (3) Whereas, in Turkey the president has been directing them to a more authoritarian rule. He is cracking down on peaceful protesters, removing judges and prosecutors that disagree with him, and replacing the government with one that puts religion at the center of the people’s lives. (4) Although the prime minister holds the most power in the government the current president is trying to change that. He has tightened his grip on the judiciary, and implemented more restrictions on the media. He is also trying to pass a constitutional amendment that will give the president more power than the prime minister.
The amount of people that admitted to paying a bribe in Turkey in 2010 was 33% (6) whereas in Georgia it was just 3%. (1) I would argue the reason behind the difference in corruption is because Georgia’s officials are held more accountable. In 2004 major corruption reforms were implemented wherein new branches of government were created in order to eliminate the corruption. (2) However, in Turkey there is less accountability. There is video evidence of the current president and one of his advisors assaulting people. It has also been proven that the current president of Turkey has been using illegal wiretapping and the intervention in many judicial cases.