The "Global War Party" (Georgian: გლობალური ომის პარტია,globaluri omis p’art’ia) is aconspiracy theory created and advanced byGeorgian Dream, aGeorgian political party. It is an alleged international organization exerting a key influence on theEuropean Union and theUnited States.[1] According to some commentators connected to the party, the "Global War Party" includes the Americanmilitary-industrial complex,George Soros andneoconservatives.[2] Georgian Dream has accused it of prolonging theRusso-Ukrainian war and spreading it to other countries,[1] assassinatingsovereignist leaders,[3] orchestratingrevolutions around the world,[4] and plotting totopple Georgian Dream from power.[5]
In the spring of 2024Prime MinisterIrakli Kobakhidze portrayedhis government as in a fight against the "Global War Party", stating "there is no alternative to the fight against the 'Global War Party', it is a very painful, difficult fight, including from a personal point of view." He added that surrender would lead to the "Ukrainization of Georgia".[6] But in autumn 2024, with the backdrop of increased international pressure, Kobakhidze expressed desire to improve relations with the "Global War Party", hoping to "reestablish relations" with the entity due to shifting circumstances.[7]
The claim has been widely dismissed by theWest, with theUS Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian AffairsJames C. O'Brien describing the claims as a "Reddit page coming to life".[8] Responding to the conspiracy theory, theForeign Affairs Minister of Lithuania,Gabrielius Landsbergis has stated "The only war party is in Moscow".[9]
Despite frequent mentions from theGeorgian government, Georgian Dream has not specified the members of the "Global War Party".[1] The term has been described as adog whistle to refer to actual or perceived political opponents such as theEuropean Commission, theEuropean Parliament, theEuropean Council, theU.S. Congress, theU.S. State Department, theWestern media, theNGO sector,Swiss banks, and the Georgian opposition – in particular,United National Movement (UNM). Kobakhidze has stated that the term was not a reference to the European Union or the United States, and that "the EU is one of the main victims" of the alleged organization.[10]
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Georgian Dream MPMariam Lashkhi has compared the "Global War Party" to theFreemasons.[11] According to the Georgian Dream-connected commentators, the "Global War Party" stands for the Americanmilitary-industrial complex corporations such asBlackRock,Vanguard Industries,State Street Corporation andFidelity Investments, which they accuse ofwar profiteering, pushing America and other countries into endless wars, and making financial profit from theRusso-Ukrainian War.[12] Some commentators additionally nameGeorge Soros and Westernneoconservatives as members.[2][13] A splinter party of Georgian Dream,People's Power, has mentioned Danish Embassy in Georgia as being a part of the organization.[14]
Irakli Kobakhidze has stated the influence of the "Global War Party" can be felt onPresidentSalome Zourabichvili.[15] He has further added that the United National Movement,Giorgi Vashadze,Giorgi Gakharia,Girchi - More Freedom, andLelo for Georgia are agents of the "Global War Party".[16] Furthermore, Kobakhidze has explicitly referred to the UNM as a member of the "Local War Party".[17]
Shortly after the start of theRussian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security CouncilOleksiy Danilov calledGeorgia andMoldova to open a "second front" againstRussia.[18] Additionally,Oleksiy Arestovych, advisor toUkrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy, stated that it was a "historic opportunity to retakeAbkhazia andSouth Ossetia".[19]
Following this, Georgian Dream has frequently accused the West of trying to open a "second front". Irakli Kobakhidze criticized these remarks, saying that the Ukrainian officials want to pursue their own interests at Georgia's expense because opening a second front would "make the situation worse for Russia", but it would also come at the cost of "destroying Georgia" asRussia's military is significantly stronger than theGeorgian military.[20] Georgian Dream MPGia Volski called on the EU and US to "distance themselves" from statements from some Ukrainian officials to "see Georgia engage in war".[21]
Soon after, Georgian Dream's rhetoric turned conspiratorial accusing a so-called "Global War Party" of being behind such calls, with which the NGO sector and Georgian opposition are supposed to be affiliated, most specifically the largest and highly pro-Western opposition party -United National Movement.[22]
The Georgian Dream leaders accused their arch-rival United National Movement of being involved in the efforts to "drag Georgia into the ongoing military conflict inUkraine and open a second frontline".[23] Party chair Kobakhidze claimed "coordination and convergence of interests" between the UNM and theUkrainian government.[24]Speaker of the Georgian ParliamentShalva Papuashvili claimed that Ukraine had become a "shelter" for the Georgian "criminals", the former United National Movement members convicted on numerous charges in Georgia, such as the Deputy Head of Ukrainian military intelligence Giorgi Lortkipanidze, in top public posts in Ukraine and that these functionaries had been allegedly involved in organizing unrest in Georgia.[25][26]
In June 2022, theEuropean Parliament passed several resolutions againstthe Georgian government and refused to grant Georgia candidate status. Kobakhidze criticized these actions and said that they were influenced by the "Global War Party".[27] Meanwhile, a total of nine MPs left the Georgian Dream parliamentary faction to establish People's Power group in 2022. The MPs maintained their support for the government, and thus provided for the parliamentary majority, but left Georgian Dream in order to freely speak "the truth about the West" and its officials. The MPs expressed strong anti-western sentiments and spread conspiracy theories such as that in exchange for EU candidate status, the West ordered Georgia to partially give up its sovereignty and go to war with Russia.[28]
Kobakhidze has accused the "Global War Party" of seizing $2 billion belonging to the Georgian oligarch, founder, and informal leader of Georgian DreamBidzina Ivanishvili, calling it de facto sanctions. This has been cited as a reason why Ivanishvili has refused meetings with the representatives of the country's traditional allies. While it is unclear what he is referring to,Credit Suisse has been ordered to pay $926 million to Ivanishvili for failing to safeguard his assets.[10][29]
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At a Georgian Dream rally inTbilisi on 29 April 2024 Ivanishvili spoke as the headliner. Ivanishvili said that the "Global War Party" had a crucial role in the decision not to admit Georgia and Ukraine inNATO, therefore, putting them in the vulnerable position with regards to Russia, later to earn profits from the subsequent military conflicts.[12] Therefore, Ivanishvili blamed the "Global War Party" for pitting Georgia and Ukraine against Russia and orchestrating the 2008Russo-Georgian War, 2014Russo-Ukrainian conflict, and the 2022Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ivanishvili said that Georgia and Ukraine are cannon fodder for the "Global War Party". He stressed that the main reason the Georgian Dream government was in a conflict with the "Global War Party" was that he did not let them open a "second front" in the country. He pointed to a resolution critical of Georgian Dream that was passed by the European Parliament and said it was proof that "the European Parliament had become yet another one of ["Global War Party's"] tools".[30]
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On 23 May 2024, Kobakhidze expanded the "Global War Party" conspiracy theory and accused it of being responsible for theattempted assassination of Robert Fico.[3] He also accusedOlivér Várhelyi, the HungarianEuropean commissioner, of threatening his life.[31] He later elaborated:
However, even in the face of prolonged blackmail, the threat voiced during a telephone conversation with one of the European Commissioners was shocking. During our conversation, the European Commissioner listed a number of measures that Western politicians might take if the veto on the transparency law is overcome. While listing these measures, he mentioned, "You've seen what happened to Fico and you should be very careful".
He stated that he was in favor of starting an investigation relating to the alleged death threat.[32] TheState Security Service of Georgia has dismissed the existence of the "Global War Party" as an entity, but has stated that it will investigate any actor who wishes to destabilize the country.[33] Kobakhidze went on to emphasize the importance of deoligarchization of both the European Union and the United States of America, a process he describes would entail freeing them from the "Global War Party's" influence.[6] On 14 July 2024, Kobakhidze subsequently accused the "Global War Party" of being responsible for thefirst assassination attempt against Donald Trump.[34]
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