Stephen F. Jones, "The First Social Democracy: The Democratic Republic of Georgia, 1918–1921" (Harvard UP, 2026)

About this episode

Professor Stephen F. Jones discusses the establishment and challenges of the first social democratic state in Georgia from 1918 to 1921.

Following the collapse of the Russian Empire, the small nation of Georgia established its independence in May 1918. Its leaders surprised the world by creating the first social democratic state. Based on a combination of parliamentarianism and direct democracy, it was a representative government of the peasants and workers themselves, with ballots in their hands. The First Social Democracy: The Democratic Republic of Georgia, 1918–1921 (Harvard University Press, 2026) is the definitive history of a government that should inspire social democrats today. Professor Stephen F. Jones chronicles how the founders of the new state navigated myriad challenges, including territorial threats from abroad, internal ethnic conflicts, and geopolitical rivalries between the imperial Ottomans, the British, and the Germans. In the midst of these existential challenges, Georgia’s social democrats set about writing a constitution to put the country on a distinctive path of genuine self-government—protecting democratic rights, promoting political pluralism, and championing equality. Professor Jones brings to life the passionate debates that shaped Georgia’s democracy during a moment of acute global…

People in this episode

Guest: Stephen F. Jones

Topics covered

• social democracy
• Georgia
• history
• political pluralism
• self-government
• Soviet rule

Keywords

• Georgia
• social democracy
• Stephen F. Jones
• history
• political pluralism
• Soviet rule
• 1918
• 1921

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harvard University Press

Books & works: The First Social Democracy: The Democratic Republic of Georgia, 1918–1921

Places: Georgia, Russian Empire, Ottomans, British, Germans

More episodes of New Books in Russian and Eurasian Studies

• Yiddish Ethnography and An-ski · May 29, 2026
• Gennady Estraikh, "The History of Birobidzhan: Building a Soviet Jewish Homeland in Siberia" (Bloombury, 2023) · April 26, 2026 · 1h 0m
• Sasha Senderovich and Harriet Murav, "In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union" (Stanford UP, 2026) · April 20, 2026 · 1h 2m
• Kristan Stoddart, "Russia's Hybrid Warfare Offensive Against the West" (de Gruyter, 2025) · April 19, 2026 · 1h 21m
• Donald Sassoon, "Revolutions: A New History" (Verso Books, 2025) · April 14, 2026 · 56 min
• Katharina Wiedlack, "Under Western Eyes: Vulnerable Minorities and the Russian State in New Cold War Cultures" (Academic Studies Press, 2025) · April 12, 2026 · 41 min