Victor Kipiani
Chairman
vkipiani@geocase.geBiography
Victor Kipiani is the Chair of a Georgian think tank organization Geocase.
His interests include international relations, security, governance, implications of the global order for Georgia and for its neighbourhood and macroeconomy. He regularly covers these topics both in English and Georgian language media outlets. He is also a frequent commentator on recent political developments in Georgia as well as on various global geopolitical trends and events; delivers speeches and holds presentations at local and international events.
Victor Kipiani leads the team of diverse and top qualified experts and researchers providing the highest levels of expertise, transparent and independent analysis, and clear policy recommendations.
Besides analytical work Victor Kipiani is engaged in practicing law - he is a senior partner and a co-founder of MKD law firm based in Tbilisi, Georgia. His legal practice is concentrated on business and contract law, project finance, capital markets, banking, energy, mineral resources, telecommunications, and corporate law.
Victor Kipiani is the author of various articles and surveys on the Georgian legal system and related matters in domestic and foreign periodicals. Victor Kipiani has been recommended as a leading private legal practitioner for Georgia by all major international directories and publications, including IFLR, Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, Who’s Who Legal, and The Legal 500.
Victor Kipiani is a member of the Georgian Bar Association, a founder of the Georgian Institute for Civil and Economic Reforms, a board member of the Independent Directors’ Association, and an advisory council member at the Service for Accounting, Reporting and Auditing Supervision Service. Also, he is a permanent editorial team member and expert on Caucasian and Eurasian affairs at the Norwegian media outlet - Geopolitika.
He has been awarded the Ivane Javakhishvili Medal by the Tbilisi State University for his fruitful cooperation with the University and for his outstanding contribution to the development of the legal profession.
Investments Welcome: But What is Their True Intent?
Author:
11 Feb 2020
Upgrading infrastructure, developing logistics, adopting modern technologies, keeping up with major trends for boosting quality of life, laying solid foundations for economic (read: civic) inclusiveness: accomplishing these and many other priorities is unthinkable witho...
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“Piercing the Mind” – an Account of Winning Hearts & Minds
Author:
11 Feb 2020
The very nature of contemporary warfare is undergoing rapid change. Major, decisive battles will no longer be limited to the physical clash of metal, to conquering swathes of territories or to physical destruction. Instead, warfare will increasingly be focused upon winn...
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The risks and challenges of COVID-19 - Opinions from Georgian and international viewpoints
Author:
23 Apr 2020
Mosaics of pandemic risks
The raging Covid-19 pandemic has become the number one topic around the world, and I believe that it will remain so for many years to come, even after the outbreak will ultimately have been defeated.
Yet besides its medical dimension...
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Georgia’s possible positioning in a new global production and trade system
Author:
29 May 2020
An exuberant geopolitical globalization
As international political events of the 21st century followed each other, with some duplication, modification and alternation, economic integration followed a rising line. As a result, we ended up with a high-quality, interc...
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Victor Kipiani - My recommendation would be to study thoroughly practical ways and requirements for joining the White House’s recently announced “Economic Prosperity Network”
Author:
30 May 2020
Interview on exuberant geopolitical globalization, global rearrangement, new economic system and Georgia’s place in the new economic and post-pandemic world withVictor Kipiani, the Chair of Geocase.
- In the previous interview, you mentioned: “The global economy...
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Contemporary international relations and Georgia’s possible response: challenges, risks, answers
Author:
26 June 2020
The end of WWI and, later, the 21st century itself created quite a few mind twisters in international relations. The number of unanswered questions has significantly increased, and the number of clear and unambiguous answers has decreased. As a result, global politics h...
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Victor Kipiani – The West’s approach to the Black Sea region urgently needs to be reviewed and readjusted
Author:
3 July 2020
Interpressnews spoke with Victor Kipiani, the Chair of Geocase about the Black Sea region and the balance of power, the incompatibility of interests among external actors and the new regional challenges that Georgia is facing.
- Mr Kipiani, the question of secur...
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The balance of strength in the Black Sea region and Georgia’s current challenges
Author:
21 July 2020
A regional prologue
Security in the Black Sea region has become a very popular topic these days, but the often purely theoretical nature of the interests of various actors is insufficient to motivate them in practice. This question and the practical solutions it c...
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Victor Kipiani - whatever the regional or international conjuncture may be, if we are to avoid risks and make full use of all the means at our disposal, we must find our own way independently
Author:
9 Aug 2020
InInterpressnews discussed current aspects and urgent issues of international relations and politics and their impact on Georgia with Victor Kipiani, the chair for Geocase, a Tbilisi based think-tank.
- Mr Kipiani, it is a fact that we live in a rapidly changing...
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Peace in the South Caucasus as the only common and uniting goal
Author:
5 Oct 2020
The South Caucasus, one of the world’s most historically and culturally diverse regions, is once again at the centre of world attention—this time as the result of the most recent outbreak of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno Kar...
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The Three Seas Initiative: An All-important Project for Georgia and the Region
Author:
2 Nov 2020
The formation of our new world differs in complexity, notably according to a number of pandemic and post-pandemic factors that encourage the transformation of old “centres of power” and the emergence of new ones.
An unavoidable result of this process is the multip...
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Unity Through Security: Assumptions, Opportunities, Suggestions
Author:
28 Nov 2020
Regional security around the Black Sea has been a frequent topic of discussion over recent years. The explanation for this is logical when one considers the far-reaching changes that are ongoing in the region as well as the rearrangement of the global order. It is also...
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The Reality We Live In: Thoughts at the Year End
Author:
25 Dec 2020
Much has been said about this newly emerging wave of global instability and disorder. There are many reasons, factors, and analyses given on a regular and routine basis. Clearly, there is a proper set of orderly reflections on what has happened in regards to global stab...
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About Tomorrow – Remembering Yesterday While Bearing in Mind the Present Day
Author:
7 Jan 2021
The past year of 2020 was not just another year. Its dramatic nature showed us once again – and quite severely – the full intensity of the challenges that could arise when several large-scale crises occur at once. In fact, in parallel with the distortion of the internat...
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Foreign Policy during the Biden Presidency: Probabilities and Realistic Expectations
Author:
28 Jan 2021
Predictably, there has been much recent discussion in Georgian media over the political line of the Biden administration as well as over the possible developments of U.S. policy, and several potential scenarios have frequently been forecast. These discussions are of cou...
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On Specific Issues – So Simple, Yet So Complex
Author:
18 Feb 2021
Today’s system of interstate relations, namely the aspiration of a state to influence and spread its interests over others, has been based on an elemental “instinct” for several centuries now. Judging by the reality in the world today, this cause of global order (or dis...
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Georgia and Its Main Strategic Partner: Marking New Principles in Relations?
Author:
21 Mar 2021
Enough time has elapsed since the inauguration of President Joe Biden in the United States to express certain opinions. Clearly, these views cannot be categorical. The reasons for such caution in assessments can be split into two: first, a period of several months is no...
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Georgia and Its Main Strategic Partner: Marking New Principles in Relations?
Author:
7 May 2021
Enough time has elapsed since the inauguration of President Joe Biden in the United States to express certain opinions. Clearly, these views cannot be categorical. The reasons for such caution in assessments can be split into two: first, a period of several months is no...
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A short letter regarding the approaching NATO summit and anticipating future summits
Author:
11 June 2021
Every NATO summit that has been held over the past decade has been a test of Georgia’s patience and expectations given Tbilisi's deserved ambition to formally join the Alliance. NATO has even established a tradition of appraising this or that form of progress in NAT...
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Georgia-Saudi Arabia Relations: Challenges and Untapped Potential
Author:
31 Aug 2021
The joint paper between the Gulf Research Center (GRC) and Geocase focuses on areas of cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Georgia. This includes fields of proposed developments within the economic sector including tourism, deepening business and commerc...
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(Stereotypical) Perceptions vs Changeable Conditions: From Idealism to Realism
Author:
21 Sept 2021
When evaluating current events developing around our country, here, we will rely upon only two voluntary limitations or “blockages”. By using these “blockages” while expressing realistic opinions and drawing conclusions, in this discussion, we will maintain a necessary...
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When Avoiding and Hiding from the Essence of an Issue
Author:
29 Oct 2021
The country is facing many problems, some of which are so serious that even much stronger states than us Georgians are struggling to find adequate responses to them. Many problematic issues, from top to bottom, are raised by our history and national characteristics, whe...
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Afghan Fallout: Consequences and Repercussions for the Region
Author:
2 Dec 2021
The withdrawal from Afghanistan has dynamized discussions of the West’s alleged retreat from peripheral areas and growing focus on a single core region.
The line that separates those regions of the world in which the West continues to pursue and defend its interes...
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For Discussion Purposes Only
Author:
16 Dec 2021
The field of international relations of late has been marked with a lack of civilized approach. The global order has seen a notable decline in the influence of moral authority which has been replaced by the factor of power in an uncompromised and open manner. What was a...
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A Free Trade Agreement: Much More than a Law Order, Much More than Just Trade
Author:
14 Jan 2022
The phrase ‘free trade agreement’ has recently become firmly established in Georgia’s conversations with the West. In official letters or communications, this combination of words means a concrete system of actions. It could be said without exaggeration that properly ad...
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Russia’s Political and Military Demarche: More Explicitly on its Separate Aspects
Author:
14 Feb 2022
The crisis provoked by Russia, which has even been dubbed “organized chaos,” is a subject of daily discussions and evaluations. Almost all assessments can be summarized in one key message: Moscow is trying to radically change the essence of the order that took shape, fi...
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Interview on Georgia-EU relations with Victor Kipiani, the Chair of Geocase
Author:
11 Mar 2020
Victor Kipiani - The EU regards Georgia as a key partner in the region and underlines that Georgia actively participates in the Eastern Partnership multilateral architecture
- In Munich the Foreign Ministers of Associated countries of Eastern Partnership si...
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The Black Sea Factor: from Words to Deeds – Like Never Before
Author:
14 Apr 2022
The Black Sea factor has become a typical topic in talks about the geopolitics and security of our region in the past few years, which is perfectly understandable, needing no additional explanation as to why.
However, while the standard is to speak about the impor...
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Essence of Economic Sanction: a Few Opinions Against the Backdrop of the War
Author:
26 Apr 2022
Not only with “word”
The ongoing war in Ukraine has firmly introduced a few words in our vernacular. One of them is “sanction.” In response to Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, renewed on 24 February, several waves of sanctions imposed by the collective...
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Revolution in the South Caucasus
Author:
3 May 2022
While the Kremlin is busy in the west, developments to the south promise further threats to its aggressive policy in the borderlands.
Overshadowed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the South Caucasus is witnessing huge developments which could potentially decrease t...
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Small State in the Context of “New Order:” Georgia
Author:
1 July 2022
Briefly about the created environment which is rather controversial and nonstandard. Several large-scale challenges of late, the pandemic, the war, the climate, have put an already enfeebled global system of legal and economic relations to a serious test, requiring the...
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Victor Kipiani: Protracted Disputes Pose Challenge to Business, Which Needs to Be Tackled
Author:
18 Aug 2022
Interviewer: Maia Demetrashvili, Business-Partner
Protracted business disputes and unenforced court rulings are the matters of main concern for businesses in Georgia for many years now. Although this problem has been long acknowledged by the government and lawye...
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Modern Security Dilemma: Georgian Polyhedron (Part 1)
Author:
24 Sept 2022
Here, as in our previous articles, we will refrain from talking affirmatively and continue our communication with readers in the form of discussion, especially considering the specificity of the topic. This time around, however, we are going to open our discussion in a...
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Crisis Economy: Trends, Features And Possible Development
Author:
10 Dec 2022
From the ordinary to the extraordinary
After the global economic crisis of 2008, a number of critical problems remain unresolved. The list of these macro- and microscale problems is quite extensive. However, despite this abundance, it is still possible to formulat...
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Giving Up Ultimatums: How Ukraine and Georgia Can Overcome a Systemic Crisis
Author:
14 Feb 2023
Earlier, "European Pravda" published a number of texts about Ukrainian-Georgian relations, including the critical assessments of the current Georgian government.
The interview with Andrei Kasyanov, Charge d'Affaires of Ukraine in Georgia, had the greatest reso...
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At the Crossroads of Choices: When Too Much Is Confusing and Too Little Is Restricting (Part 1)
Author:
24 Feb 2023
It has been said many times in recent years that the old order is finally a thing of the past, but a new one, alternative and truly effective, has yet to be established. Today, we also know (although some will probably argue with us) that the old system is not only disa...
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More Realism, Less Hypocrisy: Cooperation by Action, Not Posturing by Words
Author:
13 Apr 2023
A new date, February 24, 2022, has appeared in the calendar of the history of modern international relations, finally separating the old, ineffective and unusable system of overcoming modern security challenges from the system that is emerging now and is as new as it is...
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The New Economic “Autarchy”: on a Few Fundamental Global Trends and Important Expectations
Author:
15 Nov 2023
The end of the Cold War not only heralded an idyll in international relations, but also promised maximum access to the accumulated economic benefits worldwide through various alliances, pacts or initiatives. It is indicative that Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History, w...
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On Georgia’s Candidate Status for European Union Membership: Some Practical Considerations and Observations
Author:
25 Jan 2024
Much has been said about the historical significance of the European Council decision of December 14, 2023, and much will be said in the future. Given the political and legal, economic, moral and social nature of the EU membership candidate status for Georgia, this is a...
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Georgia's Upgraded Foreign Policy: For Greater Practicality, for Greater Effectiveness
Author:
17 Feb 2024
Current Realities
Foreign policy has never been a linear endeavor, and one could always read in the visible or hidden movements of its creation the successful or unsuccessful operation of a complex mechanism. As the system of international relations has evolved, th...
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On Some Peculiarities of Modern Economic Security
Author:
14 May 2024
An Unusual Introduction...
The 1886 short story "How Much Land Does a Man Need? " was written by the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. The main character of the story, a poor peasant, dreams of becoming a landowner. In response to this dream, fate puts him to the...
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Georgia departs from the EU
Author:
31 May 2024
Czech media outlet Lidovky has published an interview with Victor Kipiani, Chairman of Geocase
The Georgian parliament has given the green light to a law on foreign influence that has sparked mass demonstrations in the country in recent weeks. On Tuesday, t...
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Controversial law passed in Georgia: A geopolitical shift towards Russia?
Author:
1 June 2024
Victor Kipiani's interview with the Norwegian online media outlet Geopolitika.
- How do you assess the current state of Georgia's relations with Russia and the European Union? What steps do you think Georgia should take to navigate its relationships...
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Pursuit of Georgia’s 'foreign influence transparency' law: What for and how timely?
Author:
4 June 2024
The turkiye Newspaper publises an exclusive by Victor Kipiani — "The law that has been sent for the Presidential reaction to it, is already been voted by now. It is important to note that President Zourabichvili stated before that her veto would primarily be based on p...
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‘Gray Operations’ as a Contemporary Security Challenge for Georgia: Specific Considerations and Observations. Part 1
Author:
5 July 2024
As a necessary "deviation" from the topic
The improvement of Georgia's security system and the search for new approaches and solutions is a continuous process. And this is not surprising, as our region and the world have been in constant transformation since our...
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‘Gray Operations’ as a Contemporary Security Challenge for Georgia: Specific Considerations and Observations. Part 2
Author:
12 July 2024
Read part one
(2) Measures of international scope
From this point of view, the efforts of the Georgian side should be even more focused on the Black Sea factor, which from a security point of view is both a great challenge and a great opportunity....
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Armenian-Georgian Strategic Cooperation: A New Era?
Author:
10 Aug 2024
The Norwegian media outlet Geopolitika interviewed Geocase Chairman Victor Kipiani and Armenian geopolitical analyst Gevorg Malikyan on the topic of Georgia-Armenia relations.
The interview was conducted by Henrik S. Werenskiold.
The Norwegian version of the i...
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Interview with Ambassador Tadaharu Uehara by Victor Kipiani
Author:
4 Sept 2024
Tadaharu Uehara, President of Japan Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, member of Geocase Advisory Board, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Georgia from 2017 to 2020.
Interview by Victor Kipiani, Chairman of Geocase
- Mr. Uehara,...
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