The Drivers of Police Reform: The Cases of Georgia and Armenia

Abstract:

This article analyzes cases of police reform aimed at eliminating corruption. It focuses on two cases sharing similar problems of corruption in the past but with different outcomes after undertaking police reform: Georgia and Armenia. It seeks to understand why police reform is more successful in Georgia than in Armenia and uses legal documents, external reports, and secondary literature in this cause. It concludes that the primary factor influencing the outcome is a change in the political elite. Other factors contributing to the outcome of the police reforms were the involvement of foreign actors, the content of the reform, and the magnitude of the corruption.