SATURDAY, August 22, 2020, 12:00pm (ET)

LIVE on Zoom. Registration required and free

LIVE Stream on the SAS YouTube channel

PANELISTS
ANNA OHANYAN, Stonehill College
Velvet Is Not a Color: Armenia’s Democratic Transition in a Global Context
JENNY PATURYAN, American University of Armenia
State Capacity Building & Institutions: Changing Role of Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches in Armenia Since 2018
ASBED KOTCHIKIAN, Bentley University
The Reconfiguration of the Political Landscape in Armenia  and the Ensuing Challenges
ARMINE ISHKHANIAN, London School of Economics and Political Science
Changing Role of Civil Society in Post-Velvet Revolution Armenia

MODERATOR:  JIRAIR LIBARIDIAN, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, retired

In 2018, a democratic breakthrough via mass-scale nonviolent disobedience campaign brought down Armenia’s competitive, soft authoritarian system headed by then President-turned-Prime Minister Serj Sargsyan. Since then, the country continues to face challenges to consolidate its still fragile democracy. The task of the current government to transition to a full-fledged democracy has been hampered by various factors, including the still persistent ancien régime, unreformed judiciary, weak political party system, spread of misinformation, and fake news. The most recent global health crisis brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic further complicated reform initiatives. In an attempt to take stock of gains and challenges towards democratic consolidation, this panel will contextualize Armenia’s domestic politics over the past two years, doing so in a global comparative context. The discussion is geared towards identifying some of the key issues/challenges that the post-Velvet government faces.

CO-SPONSORS
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research NAASR / Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Series on Contemporary Armenian Issues
Society for Armenian Studies (SAS)

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