On April 7, 2026, Ilia State University hosted the workshop “The Protest Affect: Georgia’s Anti-Authoritarian Resistance and the Struggle for Democracy” at the Austrian Library. The event brought together local and international scholars to examine the affective dimensions of ongoing protests in Georgia.

Participants included Görkem Aydemir-Kundakci (KU Leuven), Nutsa Batiashvili (Free University of Tbilisi), Mariam Darchiashvili (Ilia State University), Martin Demant Frederiksen (Aarhus University), Katrine Bendtsen Gotfredsen (Malmö University), Ketevan Gurchiani (Ilia State University), Stephen Jones (Harvard University), Mariam Kalandadze (LSE), Tamta Khalvashi (Ilia State University), Tinatin Khomeriki (Austrian Academy of Sciences), Paul Manning (Trent University), Laura Mafizzoli (Czech Academy of Sciences), Florian Mühlfried (Ilia State University), Luka Nakhutsrishvili (Ilia State University), and Nino Zhghenti (Free University of Tbilisi).

The workshop concluded with a general discussion and plans to further develop selected contributions into a special issue for Cultural Anthropology.