Perspectives On Armenian Prospects

The young Republic of Armenia is transitioning from adolescence into maturity. The country's growing pains are many, but manageable due to our committed government officials and the ever helpful hand of the vast Armenian Diaspora. As always, the Diaspora has been the shock absorbers of Armenia and Artsakh. Unfortunately, all are experiencing the loss of population through either debilitating immigration from Armenia or through the irreversible trend of assimilation in the Diaspora. Perspectives on Armenian Prospects treats both subjects in depth. Additionally, the book tackles other important problems and prospects such as the unity of the Armenians, the Genocide, the economy, the looming conflict with Azerbaijan, and ways to improve the twin republics to mention a few. This book is full of energy, enthusiasm and innovative ideas and practical strategies to suggest ways to strengthen Armenia and Artsakh in the face of being landlocked and blockaded. See also the other books by Z.S. Andrew Demirdjian, Ph.D.: Challenges and Opportunities in Exponential Times The Viability of a Worldwide Armenian Organization: Questing for Western Armenia and Cilicia The Triangle of Trade: In the Cradle of Civilization Challenges and Opportunities in a Changing World: Insights, Innovations, and Trends The Demon in Diplomacy: Alliances Based on Affinity

Seven decades after the destruction of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire, the Armenian genocide remains largely ignored by governments and forgotten by the world public, even though the annihilation of Armenians was headlined around the world in 1915. Scholarly investigation of the Armenian genocide is just beginning, made more difficult by the tendency of many establishment figures to rationalize the past and the attempt of perpetrator governments and their successors to deny the past.This volume is a pioneering collective attempt to assess and analyze the Armenian genocide from differing perspectives, including history, political science, ethics, religion, literature, and psychiatry. Focusing on the general implications of denial, rationalization, and responsibility, it is particularly important as a precursor to the study of the Holocaust and other genocides.

"World War I was a watershed, a defining moment, in Armenian history. Its effects were unprecedented in that it resulted in what no other war, invasion, or occupation had achieved in three thousand years of identifiable Armenian existence. This calamity was the physical elimination of the Armenian people and most of the evidence of their ever having lived on the great Armenian Plateau, to which the perpetrator side soon gave the new name of Eastern Anatolia. The bearers of an impressive martial and cultural history, the Armenians had also known repeated trials and tribulations, waves of massacre, captivity, and exile, but even in the darkest of times there had always been enough remaining to revive, rebuild, and go forward. This third volume in a series edited by Richard Hovannisian, the dean of Armenian historians, provides a unique fusion of the history, philosophy, literature, art, music, and educational aspects of the Armenian experience. It further provides a rich storehouse of information on comparative dimensions of the Armenian genocide in relation to the Assyrian, Greek and Jewish situations, and beyond that, paradoxes in American and French policy responses to the Armenian genocides. The volume concludes with a trio of essays concerning fundamental questions of historiography and politics that either make possible or can inhibit reconciliation of ancient truths and righting ancient wrongs."--

The Armenians traces the evolution of Armenia and Armenian collective identity from its beginnings to the Armenian nationalist movement over Gharabagh in 1988. Applying theories of national-identity formation and nationalism, Razmik Panossian analyzes different elements of Armenian identity construction and argues that national identity is modern, predominantly subjective, and based on a political sense of belonging. Yet he also acknowledges the crucial role of history, art, literature, religious practice, and commerce in preserving the national memory and shaping the cultural identity of the Armenian people. Panossian explores a series of landmark events, among them Armenians' first attempts at liberation, the Armenian renaissance of the nineteenth century, the 1915 genocide of the Ottoman Armenians, and Soviet occupation. He shows how these influences led to a "multilocal" evolution of Armenian identity in various places in and outside of Armenia, notably in diasporan communities from India to Venice. Today, these numerous identities contribute to deep divisions and tensions within the Armenian nation, the most profound of which is the cultural divide between Armenians residing in their homeland and those who live in the United States, Canada, the Middle East, and elsewhere. Considering the diversity of this single nation, Panossian questions the theoretical assumption that nationalism must be homogenizing. Based on extensive research conducted in Armenia and the diaspora, including interviews and translation of Armenian-language sources, The Armenians is an engaging history and an invaluable comparative study.

Of all the violent disputes that have flared across the former Soviet Union since the late 1980s, the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is the only one to pose a genuine threat to peace and security throughout Eurasia. By right of its strategic location and oil resources, the Transcaucasus has been and will continue to be a source of interest for external powers competing to advance their geopolitical influence in the region. Under such conditions, the possibility will remain for the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict to reignite and expand to include other powers. The ten-year conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been one of the bloodiest and most intractable disputes to emerge from the breakup of the Soviet Union. Animosity that developed between the Armenians and Azeris under czarist Russian rule was fueled by the rise of a dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region for which both peoples feel an intense nationalistic affinity. The attachment of the region to Azerbaijan by Stalin in 1923 became a source of deep resentment for the Armenians, and during the rule of Gorbachev, a campaign was begun to achieve the peaceful unification of Armenia and Karabakh. Azerbaijan resisted the move as a threat to its territorial integrity, and clashes that broke out soon escalated into a full-scale war that outlived the USSR itself. Although a cease-fire has been observed since May, 1994, a peaceful settlement to the conflict has been elusive. Meanwhile, by right of both the strategic location and resources and the unique security characteristics of the Transcaucasus, major external powers—Russia, Turkey, and Iran—have sought to influence the dispute according to their geopolitical interests. With the growth of interest in the oil riches of the Caspian Sea and the increasing engagement of Western countries, including the United States, the risks and implications of renewed violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan will grow. This major study will be of interest to students, scholars, and policymakers involved with international relations, military affairs, and the Transcaucasus.

Based on exploratory research with students and graduates conducted in Armenia and its diaspora during summer 2018, Cairns and Sargsyan provide insight into some of the challenges involved in moving abroad, focusing on three different destinations: Russia, the United States and the European Union. Additionally, Student and Graduate Mobility in Armenia considers issues that have an impact on life chances for highly qualified young people who wish to remain in Armenia, including perceptions of corruption in the local labour market and hopes for the future following the Velvet Revolution of spring 2018. This research will be of interest to students and scholars of mobility, youth, employment and education.

Conflict resolution, conflict management and conflict transformations are major themes in this unique book which examines, explores and analyses the mediation attempts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Ohannes Geukjian shows the most striking characteristic of a protracted internal conflict such as this is its asymmetry and explains that, without meeting basic human needs like identity, recognition, security and participation, resolving any protracted social conflict is very difficult. The Armenian Azerbaijani case demonstrates how official diplomacy may not be able to solve protracted internal conflicts as, without addressing the real causes of the problematic relationship, attempts at peace making will always be sporadic and the space for mutual understanding and compromise shrink. Geukjian shows that conflict transformation has a particular salience in asymmetric conflicts such as this where the goal is to transform unjust relationships and where a high degree of polarisation between the disputants has taken root. Using the Nagorno-Karabakh case, this book focuses on the anatomy and causes of deadlock in negotiations and highlights the many difficulties in achieving a breakthrough.