Episode 38

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Published on:

20th Mar 2021

Georgian political crisis with Sergi Kapanadze

The country of Georgia is one of the former Soviet states still fighting for autonomy from the Kremlin. With the ongoing Russian military occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, it’s not just an academic discussion.

Today on Black Diplomats we have Dr. Sergi Kapanadze, a professor and politician in the Georgian opposition party. Kapanadze explains why his party has decided not to take their seats in Parliament, their allegations of voter fraud in the last election, and how the United States can help untie this knot.

With hopes of joining the EU and drawing their economy closer to Europe, many in Georgia are fearful they could slide the other direction, ending up looking more like Belarus than Austria. Kapanadze doesn’t believe most members of the ruling Georgian Dream party want a more authoritarian government. He’s not so sure about Georgia prime minister Irakli Garibashvili.

Host Terrell Starr spent two years in Georgia during his time in the Peace Corps, so the fate of the country has a personal stake for him. You can hear his love for the Georgian people all through this conversation.

Thank you for listening!

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About the Podcast

Black Diplomats
The world is full of black people, but when the mainstream media talks about the world, we hardly ever hear from them. Black Diplomats—a podcast dedicated to international politics and culture from the perspective of people of color—is going to...
Founded in 2020 and led by Terrell Jermaine Starr, Black Diplomats is the go-to podcast for those who want relatable content on global affairs that doesn’t center the perspectives of white male experts.

Few foreign policy shows are led by Black people or center the opinions, experiences and expertise of people of color. Black Diplomats is one exception. Guests are mostly people of color and people who are indigenous to the regions the episodes focus on.
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About your host

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Terrell Starr

Terrell Jermaine Starr is the senior reporter at The Root, where he writes about the 2020 election and foreign policy, mostly U.S. relations with Ukraine and Russia. He is also the The Root’s 2020 correspondent and is tasked with interviewing presidential candidates and traveling to communities around the country to see who voters are eyeing to cast ballots for during the 2020 primary and the general election.

Some of the people Starr have conducted sit-down interviews with include U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, former U.S. Congressman Beto O’Rourke, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, U.S. Senator Cory Booker and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, among other politicians.

Before working at The Root, Starr was at Foxtrot Alpha, a blog that focuses on military, technology and policy. Prior to that, he worked for FUSION as a national political correspondent covering the 2016 presidential campaign. He lived Ukraine as a Fulbright fellow, and Georgia as a Peace Corps volunteer. Starr has over four years of experience living in the former Soviet Union and more than eight years working as a reporter. Starr uses his media skills to break down Russia-U.S. relations in ways that make him not sound like a Washington hack. He is a frequent guest and co-host of the popular podcast In The Thick and his work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Mother Jones and Buzzfeed.

Starr is a regularly sought after speaker on U.S.-Russian relations, Ukrainian politics and the intersection of race and politics in America.