On February 1, 2012, USIP and the Atlantic Council hosted President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia as he addressed what Georgia, North Africa, and other reforming societies have in common.

Read the event coverage, Georgian President, at USIP, Says Reforms Must Follow Revolutions

President Saakashvili on Post-Revolutionary Societies & What Comes After the Arab Spring

The 2011 wave of revolutions and protests has sent a clear message to the international community: freedom, democracy and accountability matter. Nearly a decade before the Arab uprisings, the color revolutions swept across eastern Europe.  As North Africa and other parts of the world seek to reinvent themselves, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili drew on Georgia's democratic transformation to explore the common challenges and opportunities that post-revolutionary societies face.  His talk addressed the myriad of issues that these new governments must undertake from building democratic institutions to confronting corruption and earning the trust of their empowered citizens.

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