Georgia's government is overhauling higher education as it shifts away from the West and deepening ties with Moscow, amid anti-government protests against the reforms. The reforms, which aim to reduce the concentration of higher education institutions in Tbilisi and reduce the "irrational" use of resources, are part of a principle of "one faculty, one city" that only one university in a given city will be allowed to offer certain degree programmes. The government will also decide which academic disciplines can be taught at each of the 19 public universities in Georgia and redistribute admission quotas. Critics argue that these reforms are further evidence that the government is turning Georgia towards Russia, which lost a short war to the Soviet Union in 2008. Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012, claims its policies are not authoritarian and that it is trying to keep Georgia, which is seeking peace with the West. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has found "marked democratic backsliding" in Georgia.