Georgia’s government is trying to soften its authoritarian image by mimicking American legislation to regulate foreign lobbyists. But no one, including Trump administration officials, is buying it.

Since an election last fall that was marred by irregularities, the parliament in Tbilisi, dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party, has gone on a bingelegislating spree, taking a wrecking ball to the concept of checks and balances. As part of the rush to remake the political system, MPs have repackaged already-adopted legislation regulating the non-governmental sector, aiming to make a law designed to stifle dissent seem more palatable to global public opinion.

Parliament’s May 2024 adoption of the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, dubbed the Foreign Agents law, is widely viewed as the event that kick-started Georgian Dream’s hard-right turn. The law, which placed onerous restrictions on non-governmental organizations and independent media outlets, gave authorities a powerful weapon to punish watchdogs and critics. Now that Georgian Dream has tilted the political playing field heavily in its direction, party leaders seem interested in trying to make their power grab appear more legitimate.

Accordingly, on April 1, parliament unanimously approved an updated version of the Foreign Agents law, this new iteration taking its name directly from US legislation adopted in 1938, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Georgian Dream officials portray the law as a carbon copy of US legislation. But the updated version is more expansive than the American law. The Georgian FARA mandates any organization receiving over 20 percent of its funding from foreign sources to register as “foreign agents.” This includes a wide range of civil society organizations and media outlets that are not directly controlled by foreign governments, fulfilling direct instructions from foreign states or organizations, or advocating on their behalf.

This aspect of the Georgian legislation contrasts with the US law, which “requires certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities or other activities specified under the statute to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities.”

During the same session that MPs rammed through FARA, they also approved amendments redefining treason, removing “gender” and “gender equality” from Georgian legislation, and excluding civil society organizations from decision-making processes.

The new FARA law drew quick condemnation from the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. In a statement issued April 2, ODIHR’s director, Maria Telalian, is quoted as saying: “Civil society is vital to all democracies, and any new requirements should enhance their important work in line with international standards rather than imposing limitations.”

“The US Foreign Agents Registration Act on which Georgia’s new law is modeled has legal safeguards that prevent the labeling of civil society as a tool of foreign influence simply for receiving funding from abroad,” the ODIHR statement added.

The US State Department recently weighed in on Georgian Dream’s actions, issuing a statement to a Georgian media outlet that expressed the Trump administration’s disapproval.

“Regarding continuing anti-democratic actions taken by the Georgian Dream government … you cannot win a democratic mandate by censoring your opponents or putting them in jail, nor can you win one by disregarding your basic electorate on questions like who gets to be a part of our shared society,” the statement read.