No two markets for voluntary health insurance (VHI) are identical. All differ in some way because they are heavily shaped by the nature and performance of publicly financed health systems and by the contexts in which they have evolved. This volume contains short structured profiles of markets for VHI in 34 countries in Europe. These are drawn from European Union member states plus Armenia Iceland Georgia Norway the Russian Federation Switzerland and Ukraine. The book is aimed at policy-makers and researchers interested in knowing more about how VHI works in practice in a wide range of contexts. Each profile written by one or more local experts identifies gaps in publicly-financed health coverage describes the role VHI plays outlines the way in which the market for VHI operates summarises public policy towards VHI including major developments over time and highlights national debates and challenges. The book is part of a study on VHI in Europe prepared jointly by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and the WHO Regional Office for Europe. A companion volume provides an analytical overview of VHI markets across the 34 countries.

Situated in the breathtaking Caucasus Mountains between the Black and the Caspian Seas, the country of Georgia sits at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; it has gone through more turbulence and change in the last twenty five years—the casting off of the Soviet regime, a civil war, two ethno-territorial conflicts, economic collapse, corruption, government inefficiency, and massive emigration—than most countries go through in 250 years. This small nation's strategic location at the crossroads of different civilizations has been a curse as well as a blessing. Once a battlefield between the ancient empires and the Christian and Islamic worlds, today it is caught between its NATO aspirations and its location in Russia’s backyard. Yet, despite all challenges and hardships, this resilient and ancient country, with thousands of years of winemaking, three-thousand years of statehood, and almost two millennia of Christianity, continues to survive and thrive. This book uses its chronology; glossary; introduction; appendixes; maps; bibliography; and over 900 hundred cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places, events and institutions, as well as significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects to trace Georgia's history and predict its future. This historical dictionary is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Georgia.

This multidisciplinary collection provides a unique insiders' perspective on the major issues in Georgian politics, society, and economics in the twenty-five years since its independence from the Soviet Union.

This book is a collection of electronic publications over the past 15 years. These articles are devoted to the political and economic problems of post-Communist Georgia in the XXI century. For Georgia, even before the collapse of the USSR, and especially in the last years of its existence, the priority was a Euro-Atlantic orientation. Georgia’s European path of development has not been an easy one. The formation of a European state in post-Communist Georgia is associated with many difficult tasks whose solution is of paramount importance for the future of this country. On June 27, 2014, the EU-Georgia Association Agreement was signed in Brussels. The agreement opened up new opportunities for Georgia to integrate into the EU. At the same time, Georgia still needs to do a lot of work for a real rapprochement with the EU and this will require many years of hard work.

How have discourses of Euro-Atlanticism been used in domestic and international affairs by the political elite in Georgia? After the 2003 Rose Revolution, as relations with Russia soured, a Euro-Atlantic orientation portrayed as a single and coherent strategy became the cornerstone of Georgian foreign policy as well as a model for domestic reforms. This promise of a prosperous future offered new hope to the Georgian population. Scepticism or critical thinking towards President Saakashvili and his government were equated to pro-Russian treason and pro-western orientation and impressive reforms, promoted as being modelled along ’European standards’, emerged simultaneously with an outspoken rhetoric and active symbolism. References to Europe and the Euro-Atlantic structures became ubiquitous as European flags were brandished throughout the country. Addressing a gap in the existing literature the author examines a large volume of data extracted from news items from 20 different Georgian and International media channels over a ten-year period. Through this he identifies patterns in the discourse to explain the intentions of the Georgian elite and examines the effectiveness of the rhetoric.