Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that the country must be "ten times stronger" than Armenia "every day," explaining this by the need to maintain military superiority even after the initialing of a peace agreement between the two countries. He outlined his position on October 2 at the 8th Congress of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party in Baku.
Georgia is among the countries whose scores in the Global Freedom and Prosperity Index have declined most significantly in recent years, according to the Atlantic Council's 2026 report, which covers 171 countries.
The study's authors identified Georgia as one of the countries with the most significant decline in the rights sub-index since 2020. Along with it, the list includes Burkina Faso, Ecuador, El Salvador, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Peru, Sudan, and Tunisia.
The report notes that the reasons for this decline vary across countries. In some countries, it is linked to military coups and armed conflicts, while in others, it is linked to the weakening of checks and balances and deteriorating public safety.
According to the report's authors, Georgia's position has worsened due to the weakening of the rule of law, a decline in judicial independence, problems with corruption, the protection of property rights, and a reduction in political freedoms.