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Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia has struggled to establish itself, with a faltering economy, emigration of the intelligentsia and the weakening of civil society. This book explores how a new national elite has emerged and how it has constructed a new national narrative to suit Armenia’s new circumstances. The book examines the importance of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, considers the impact of fraught relations with Turkey and the impact of relations with other neighbouring states including Russia, and discusses the poorly-developed role of the very large Armenian diaspora. Overall, the book provides a key overview to understanding the forces shaping all aspects of present-day Armenia.
In April 2018, Armenia experienced a remarkable popular uprising leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and his replacement by protest leader Nikol Pashinyan. Evoking Czechoslovakia's similarly peaceful overthrow of communism 30 years previously, the uprising came to be known as Armenia's 'Velvet Revolution': a broad-based movement calling for clean government, democracy and economic reform. This volume examines how a popular protest movement, showcasing civil disobedience as a mass strategy for the first time in the post-Soviet space, overcame these unpromising circumstances. Situating the events in Armenia in their national, regional and global contexts, different cont...
“Central Europe” is a vague and ambiguous term, more to do with outlook and a state of mind than with a firmly defined geographical region. In the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Iron Curtain, Central Europeans considered themselves to be culturally part of the West, which had been politically handicapped by the Eastern Soviet bloc. More recently, and with European Union membership, Central Europeans are increasingly thinking of themselves as politically part of the West, but culturally part of the East. This book, with contributions from a large number of scholars from the region, explores the concept of “Central Europe” and a number of other political concepts from an openly Central European perspective. It considers a wide range of issues including politics, nationalism, democracy, and the impact of culture, art and history. Overall, the book casts a great deal of light on the complex nature of “Central Europe”.
In April 2018, Armenia experienced a remarkable popular uprising leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and his replacement by protest leader Nikol Pashinyan. Evoking Czechoslovakia's similarly peaceful overthrow of communism 30 years previously, the uprising came to be known as Armenia's 'Velvet Revolution': a broad-based movement calling for clean government, democracy and economic reform. This volume examines how a popular protest movement, showcasing civil disobedience as a mass strategy for the first time in the post-Soviet space, overcame these unpromising circumstances. Situating the events in Armenia in their national, regional and global contexts, different cont...
Over the course of the last thirty years post-communist Russia has either been struggling with crises, discussing the lessons learned from past crises, or attempting to trace the contours of future crises. Based on the author’s own experiences and his research over this long period, this book traces the logic of the development of the crises and the anti-crisis policies, and shows the continuity, or discontinuity, in determining particular solutions. It demonstrates how perceptions of the priorities for economic policy, and the problems of economic growth and the formation of a new model and its alternatives were formed and how they changed. It also outlines the evolution of ideas about the role of social politics and human capital sectors in addressing anti-crisis and modernization issues, and discusses the changing views on the institutional and structural priorities for Russia’s development. This is an important book on an economic subject of crucial global significance by a leading participant.
This book frames the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in the context of European and international security. It is the first book to focus on the politics of the conflict rather than the dispute itself. Since their emergence twenty years ago, this and other “frozen conflicts” of Eurasia have been affected by transformations in European security, and many ways absorbed into an ever fiercer geopolitical struggle for influence. The wars in Georgia and Ukraine brought greater attention to some unresolved conflicts, but not to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As the contributors to this volume argue, the conflict merits much greater European attention, for several reasons: it is on a path of escalation, existing mediation regimes are dysfunctional, and as both Georgia and Ukraine have showed, any outbreak of serious fighting will force the EU to respond. This book thus explains the interlocking interests of Russia, Turkey, Iran, the EU and United States in the conflict, and analyzes the negotiation process and the conflict’s international legal aspects.
Few relationships have been as misunderstood as the "strategic partnership" between Russia and China. Official rhetoric portrays it as the very model of international cooperation: Moscow and Beijing claim that ties are closer and warmer than at any time in history. In reality, however, the picture is highly ambiguous. While both sides are committed to multifaceted engagement, cooperation is complicated by historical suspicions, cultural prejudices, geopolitical rivalries, and competing priorities. For Russia, China is at once the focus of a genuine convergence of interests and the greatest long-term threat to its national security. For China, Russia is a key supplier of energy and weapons, b...
This book focuses on Post-Soviet ethnic conflicts and Russia's involvement in them. In light of its significant importance for general ethnic conflict, specifically the post-Soviet Caucasus, along with the most recent war just fought over the area from September-November 2020, this book appropriately argues that it is time to reconsider Karabakh. This project deals with the historical, social and political aspects of the Karabakh issue regarding its origins, development and the current status of the conflict subsequent to the war in the autumn of 2020. Thus, the main themes will stress these points, as well as the importance of the Karabakh issue for the future, by considering its precedents and implications for other secessionist wars. This book also explores how such wars begin and end, the international legal precedents of self-determination versus territorial integrity, its implications for post-Soviet developments and conflicts, and the latest successful weapons developments lessons from the recent war involving drones, among others such as Azerbaijan’s rich oil reserves.
Armenia is facing considerable fiscal risks from climate change due to increasing and highly variable temperatures. This report provides guidance on how to quantify those risks over the long term, using an empirical approach to identify the potential impact of a range of temperature scenarios on GDP and the public finances. It finds that an extreme unmitigated temperature scenario that incorporates higher year to year variability could reduce GDP by 18 percent relative to baseline, and lead to unsustainable public debt trajectory by 2070. It also finds particular exposures to climate change on the state’s balance sheet through its SOE, PPP and on lending portfolio in the energy, water and transport sectors.
This book delves into the connections between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the countries of the southern Caucasus region following the 1979 revolution. It focuses on their political, economic, and cultural interactions and elaborates on Iran's foreign policy principles, discourses, and significant decision-making institutions. It also addresses the process of nation-state building in the southern Caucasus, the challenges involved, and the geopolitical and strategic importance of this area for Iran. Factors influencing the relations are scrutinised, alongside an evaluation of the proposed accession of the Republic of Azerbaijan into Iran, based on insights from Hashemi Rafsanjani's diary. The work further investigates the legal framework of the Caspian Sea and Aras River, examines the strategic implications of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for Iran and other relevant actors, and analyses the repercussions of the Ukraine war on transportation routes. This book will help researchers of the Middle East and the Caucasus better understand Iran's relations with the region.