Ana Khizanishvili previously served as a senior fellow and director of policy and research for MEI’s Frontier Europe Initiative. Prior to MEI, Ana worked as a human rights expert at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for South Caucasus.
She previously served as an advisor to the Administration of the Government of Georgia, developing cross-government human rights mechanisms and policies. She also has experience running a non-government organization focused on youth education.
Ana has extensive experience advising governments in Eastern Europe on democratic reform, particularly around establishing policies on good governance, transparency and human rights.
Education
BA in law, Tbilisi State University
Regions of Expertise
Europe, Black Sea countries
Issues of Expertise
Governance, democracy, transparency, human rights
Now is not the time for the West to turn away from Georgia
Earlier this week, Georgian law enforcement arrested United National Movement (UNM) party chairman Nika Melia on charges of inciting violence during anti-government demonstrations in 2019. The arrest has left many outraged and is the latest event to deepen political divisions in the country. There are valid arguments as to how the government could have handled Melia’s arrest better. But more important is what’s at stake for the future of Georgia – both domestically and as a member of the international community.
Can President Biden rescue America’s democratic legacy in the Black Sea?
Following a tumultuous period in Washington, during which the Capitol was stormed by rioters and Donald Trump became the first president to be impeached twice, many in the United States and around the world were left feeling concerned and unsettled.As a Georgian who has seen the U.S. play a transformative role in building my country’s young democracy, the attack on Capitol Hill was something I could never have anticipated. My fear stemmed not from feeling unsafe in downtown DC, but rather from the consequences of U.S. instability and fragility on those countries that rely on its support to build democratic institutions and adopt western values.
Election 2020: The Future of U.S.-Black Sea Relations
In Frontier Europe Initiative’s new briefing book, entitled Election 2020: The Future of Black Sea-U.S. Relations, MEI scholars and external contributors identify key issues across the region, highlight U.S. interests at stake, and provide policy insights and recommendations for the path forward. The pieces in this book serve as a contribution to the broader discussion about the challenges and opportunities for U.S. policy in the region
