Armenia’s “velvet revolution”, dubbed as the “revolution of love and tolerance”, occurred against the backdrop of rising authoritarian tendencies globally and in a region characterized by authoritarian politics. Opposition leader turned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan led a widespread campaign of civil disobedience against
In mid-March, the Armenian Ministry of Defense (MoD) released an 18-page strategic document entitled “2018–2024 Modernization Program for the Armenian Armed Forces.” The document lays out a framework for boosting technological innovation in the defense and security sector, raising the moral resiliency of
On March 1, Armenia’s National Security Council officially scrapped the Zürich Protocols, signed with Turkey on October 10, 2009, under the internationally mediated normalization and reconciliation process also known as “soccer diplomacy” (1in.am, March 1). Covertly launched in mid-2007 but intensified and made
The settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict is the number one national security priority for Armenia. Armenia guarantees the security of the people of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, having supported Karabakh during the 1992–94 war with Azerbaijan and through the years of cease-fire. Since
“The convergence in the timing of key political processes in Armenia and Azerbaijan has heightened interest in Armenia regarding Azerbaijan’s domestic developments”, writes Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed The Azerbaijani President’s decision to move Presidential elections from October to April 2018 caught many in
Saudi Arabia is so desperate to enlist new foot soldiers in its fight against Iran that it is resorting to journalistic fraud to make its case. Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned news network, recently published a piece wondering whether “Iran will turn Azerbaijan into another Iraq” by manipulating
On the day it all started I was extremely exhausted. After hard working day I still had too much work to do. I thought I better retire into my shell and relax for a while. I locked myself into my room, turned on
At the Armenian diaspora’s Sixth Pan-Armenian Forum, held on September 18–20, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian declared that Yerevan was discussing the possible handover of some occupied territories back to Azerbaijan, in line with formerly accepted principles agreed upon by both sides in
The unprecedented escalation of violence, in April 2016, on the Line of Contact in the breakaway region of Karabakh had, in part, kick-started a new round of military preparations between Armenia and Azerbaijan (see EDM, April 6, May 5, 2016). But as bloody incidents along
At the beginning of July, two members of the Azerbaijani parliament, Qudrat Hassanguliyev and Fazil Gezenferoglu, launched a verbal attack against Iran. They accused Tehran of meddling in the internal affairs of a South Caucasus nation and supporting Armenia, which occupies Azerbaijani territory in the context of