Foreign Agent Laws: The Latest Authoritarian Weapon Against Civil Society MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, October 21 (IPS) - When thousands of Georgians filled the streets of Tbilisi in 2023 to protest against their government’s proposed ‘foreign agents’ law, they understood what their leaders were trying to do: this wasn’t about transparency or accountability; it was about silencing dissent. Though the government was forced to withdraw the legislation, it returned with renewed determination in 2024, passing a renamed version despite even bigger protests. The law has effectively frozen Georgia’s hopes of joining the European Union.

Foreign Agent Laws: The Latest #Authoritarian Weapon Against Civil Society

#CivilSociety #democracy #ForeignAgentLaws

Alsu Kurmasheva spent 288 days in Russian detention under “foreign agent” laws.

Her story, shared at #IJF2025, raises critical questions about press freedom and how such laws are spreading globally.

#PressFreedom #Journalism #MediaLaw #AlsuKurmasheva #ForeignAgentLaws

Next Thursday, I will be speaking about foreign agent laws in Europe and their impact on press freedom and digital rights, with a focus on the cases of #Georgia, #Slovakia, #Hungary, and #Bosnia.

#ForeignAgentLaws #PressFreedom #DigitalRights

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The Spreading Impact of Restrictive ‘Foreign Agent’ Laws and How to Stop Them Such measures not only gut civil society as incubators of citizen involvement and connection with government, they spill beyond borders.

Restrictive #ForeignAgentLaws spreading across #Europe & #Eurasia, including the #EU, have impact far beyond immediate gov’t repression of #CivilSociety.

Jasmine D. Cameron and @ferrynicola.bsky.social dive deep:

#democracy #HumanRightsDay
www.justsecurity.org/105593/forei...