[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”3px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”9px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-52px||||false|false” custom_padding=”32px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n
Ballots printed for the last ever direct presidential elections in Armenia With parliamentary elections in Armenia just over a year away, opposition figures and some analysts are increasingly questioning Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s prospects for re-election. Critics argue that he has failed to fulfil his widely promoted peace agenda<\/em> and hold him accountable for the exodus of approximately 100,000 ethnic Armenians from the former Soviet-era Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) in late September 2023. They also point to unrealistic campaign promises made during the last parliamentary elections held in 2021, including the pledge to reclaim the strategic hilltop citadel of Shusha and pursue remedial secession for the separatist but now dissolved Karabakh \u2014 goals widely seen as unattainable from the outset.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Some argue that it was Prime Minister Pashinyan\u2019s refusal to acknowledge the reciprocal nature of two agreed transport linkages \u2014from Armenia to Karabakh and Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan\u2014 in November 2020 that led to a stalemate over the Lachin corridor. This, they contend, ultimately resulted in the demise of Karabakh as an ethnic Armenian political entity and was predictable since the ink dried on the trilateral ceasefire statement. Pashinyan was to exploit the complete loss of Karabakh to pivot politically, declaring it time to focus solely on securing the future of the Republic of Armenia within its internationally recognised borders. The Armenian opposition, however, claimed this outcome was orchestrated with the backing of the European Union and United States, aimed at reducing or eliminating Russian influence in the strategically important South Caucasus.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n [\u2026] <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Although the resurgence of a more assertive opposition under the guidance of Kocharyan and Sargsyan was predictable, what was less expected was Pashinyan<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s ability to survive repeated political\u00a0crisis after crisis. This resilience was most apparent in\u00a02024\u00a0when Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a\u00a0revanchist\u00a0cleric, failed to\u00a0mobilise\u00a0sufficient numbers on the streets to\u00a0leverage\u00a0sufficient\u00a0public outrage\u00a0just as the parliamentary opposition couldn\u2019t even in 2022 when\u00a0a pregnant woman was killed by Pashinyan<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s speeding convoy in central Yerevan.\u00a0On the other hand, with\u00a0the trauma of defeat still fresh, many Armenians\u00a0are naturally reluctant\u00a0to risk further bloodshed in\u00a0a\u00a0conflict they\u00a0are again unlikely to win. Armenia lacks meaningful security guarantees, and the\u00a0European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) was never\u00a0intended\u00a0to\u00a0act\u00a0as one.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n [\u2026] <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Ultimately, however, it will all depend on the electorate which will likely be overwhelmed by a deluge of partisan propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation from multiple sources over the coming year in what could prove a highly contentious and bitter period defined by geopolitical and not domestic concerns. It is high time that society engages in informed discussion and debate beforehand to neutralise the potentially explosive consequences before it is too late. At the beginning of the year, Armenia\u2019s Foreign Intelligence Service already warned that there were already signs of domestic instability to come in 2025. The stakes have never been higher.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The full piece is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][dsm_text_divider header=”CONFLICT VOICES e-BOOKS” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/dsm_text_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”|0px||0px|false|false” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/onnik-krikorian.com\/new_site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/book-1-2.jpg” title_text=”Click to download” url=”https:\/\/onnik-krikorian.com\/new_site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/conflict_voices_december_2010-1.pdf” url_new_window=”on” align=”center” admin_label=”Image” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” width=”85%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Oswald|||on|||||” ul_font=”||on|on|||||” ul_font_size=”20px” custom_margin=”|||50px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Conflict Voices \u2013 December 2010<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_font_size=”15px” custom_margin=”|||50px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n \n Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict \n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/onnik-krikorian.com\/new_site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/book-new-1.jpg” title_text=”Click to download” url=”https:\/\/onnik-krikorian.com\/new_site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Conflict20Voices20May202011.pdf” url_new_window=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” width=”85%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Oswald|||on|||||” ul_font=”||on|on|||||” ul_font_size=”20px” custom_margin=”|||50px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”] <\/p>\n Conflict Voices \u2013 May 2011<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_font_size=”15px” custom_margin=”|||50px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n \n Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict \n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ballots printed for the last ever direct presidential elections in Armenia \u00a9 Onnik James Krikorian 2008 With parliamentary elections in Armenia just over a year away, opposition figures and some analysts are increasingly questioning Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan\u2019s prospects for re-election. Critics argue that he has failed to fulfil his widely promoted peace agenda and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,57,10,52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-armenia","category-armenia-elections","category-azerbaijan","category-commonspace"],"yoast_head":"\n
\u00a9 Onnik James Krikorian 2008<\/em><\/p>\n\n
Download in English<\/a> | Russian<\/a><\/p>\n
Download in English<\/a> | Russian<\/a><\/p>\n