CATEGORY RESULTS

Armenia: An Online Revolution in the making?

Armenia: An Online Revolution in the making?

Feb 19, 2011 | ,

Recent events in Tunisia and Egypt have captured the attention of the world’s media and also encouraged and inspired other movements elsewhere, albeit in much bloodier ways as this week has shown in Bahrain and Libya. Not to be outdone, opposition groups in the South Caucasus are also looking to replicate similar events at home, and particularly in Armenia and Azerbaijan. But, while the continuing debate between the cyber-utopians and cyber-sceptics continues as to the precise role of social media in uprisings in the Arab world, opposition groups here most definitely believe it holds the key to succesful regime change.

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NGOs and Grassroots Movements: Partners or Rivals?

NGOs and Grassroots Movements: Partners or Rivals?

Jan 20, 2011 | , , , ,

In an opinion piece looking at the media and peace building in 2010 and prospects for 2011, Sheldon Himelfarb, Associate Vice-President at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), noticed some interesting developments, especially in the area of how new online tools can empower individuals. In a sense, this has been precisely what my own personal project has been about, although Himelfarb also raises the possibility of some concerns which might emerge as a result.

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Developing A Holistic Approach To Armenia-Azerbaijan Peacebuilding Initiatives

Developing A Holistic Approach To Armenia-Azerbaijan Peacebuilding Initiatives

Jan 3, 2011 | , , ,

A comment made earlier today on a previous post regarding the need to diversify the dissemination of news and information online in the area of peace building in order to reach the largest number of people, especially when Internet penetration remains quite low, reminded me of another need which I had also briefly alluded to in a different post. Arif Khalil pointed out the potential for physical activities and events to break down stereotypes and engage a much larger and wider society in the ‘real world,’ and in particular mentioned using theater to spread a message of peace and coexistence.

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Skype in Conflict Zones: An example from the South Caucasus

Skype in Conflict Zones: An example from the South Caucasus

Dec 31, 2010 | , , , ,

In a situation where Armenia and Azerbaijan are meant to be negotiating to end the conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, civil society should be very active. However, it doesn’t appear as though it is, and not least because few people actually believe that a breakthrough is possible, especially when cross-border activities are far simpler to conduct in the area of Armenia-Turkey relations. Indeed, and to be quite frank, it is difficult to consider that much is going on at all. Meanwhile, the situation isn’t helped by the fact that few Azerbaijani civil society activists visit Armenia, and even fewer Armenians visit Azerbaijan. In short, an environment conducive to peace or conflict resolution doesn’t seem to exist.

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Online Social Networks in Armenia-Azerbaijan peacebuilding and cross-border communication

Online Social Networks in Armenia-Azerbaijan peacebuilding and cross-border communication

Dec 26, 2010 | , , ,

Since taking the first tentative steps to bring bloggers from Armenia and Azerbaijan together online in June 2008, it’s been both amazing and surprising to look back at how new media has managed to encourage and facilitate communication between the two countries. Locked into a bitter conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, the online environment which exists today was unimaginable two and half years ago. Even professionally it has opened up new possibilities. As a journalist, for example, the first time I ever co-penned an article with a counterpart in Azerbaijan, ironically enough entitled Nagorno Karabakh Dispute Takes to Cyberspace, was in isolation. We both wrote two separate pieces and submitted them to an American editor who then cut and put them together as one. Today, even though many publications covering the Caucasus still work like this, I can now do so without any in between involved.

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The Media in Armenia and Azerbaijan: Effective or Affective?

The Media in Armenia and Azerbaijan: Effective or Affective?

Dec 12, 2010 | , , , ,

Many academics argue that the influence of the media is especially strong in environments where citizens depend on a limited number of news sources. In contrast, when citizens have alternative sources of information they are less subject to the potential effects of media. Following this argument, how affective is the media in Armenia and Azerbaijan in establishing an image of the “other” in an environment where over 90 percent of the populations choose television as their primary source of information on current events with over 40 percent choosing family, friends, neighbors and colleagues as their second main source?

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Twitter Diplomacy: Can new media break the Armenia-Azerbaijan information blockade?

Twitter Diplomacy: Can new media break the Armenia-Azerbaijan information blockade?

Feb 22, 2010 | , , , ,

With a peaceful resolution to the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh as elusive as ever, Armenians and Azerbaijanis are unable to visit each other’s country or communicate through traditional means such as telephone or mail. However, as the local media usually self-censors or resorts to propaganda when it comes to relations between the two countries, can new and social media step in to fill the gap to break the information blockade?

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