ILIA CHAVCHAVADZE’S CONSERVATIVE-LIBERAL VIEWS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF NATIONAL IDEOLOGY FROM A MODERN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

1. In the process of a construction and successful management of the statehood in a historical and contemporary political space one of the most important factors is an existence of the well-developed political theory – a stable base for the ideology of the government.2. A need for a national ideology has been well acknowledged at the medieval time by the ruling elite of the Georgian state. Their political theory and ideology of the King’s genealogical line was carefully constructed as a unified concept based on the Christian worldview and the political, socioeconomic and cultural development of the country.3. Ilia Chavchavadze, who spearheaded the revival of the Georgian national movement in the second half of the 19th century, during the Russian rule of Georgia, realized a need in a development of a new national ideology corresponding to the demands of modern European society. He directed much of his efforts toward the creation of a new political theory. In our opinion, this marks a new phase of the Georgian political ideology in Georgian historiography.4. Ilia’s main political goal was the creation of future and modernity oriented oriented national ideology. To achieve this goal, he started to search for an appropriate ideology, which could unify all levels of the society in the service of the state. Observing in the European countries already well functioning Liberalism and Conservatism, he came to the conclusion that the most successful examples show that the statehood was built by the use of the main principles of these two ideologies.5. As our research showed Ilia offered a totally new approach to this question. In his opinion, these contradictory ideologies in reality well function together and enrich each other. It is remarkable that American conservators came to the same conclusion only in the mid of the 20th century. 6. An importance of Ilia’s approach who observed and analyzed a less explicit picture of the coexistence of different political ideologies gains a special importance in the modern time, which is marked by a diffusion and enriching relationship of the political ideologies. This fact once again actualizes from the modern perspectives a value of Ilia Chavchavadze as a public figure.