Post-Soviet Armenia: The New National Elite and the New National Narrative

Description

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. Cover Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgements List of abbreviations 1 Introduction Setting the stage What, why and how? Research question Why Armenia? Empirical significance Theoretical relevance Conceptual framework Elites and elite formations The role of elites in constructing a nationally significant narrative Methodology Book outline Chapter organization Notes 2 Armenia’s political elites? Introduction Elite? Armenian political elites: historical shortcut A look into Armenian nobility Political leadership of the First Republic The partocratic elite of Soviet Armenia Conceptualizing elite transformation Identifying elites Classics Other schools Post-Soviet elite conceptualization New Armenia, new elites? Circulation or reproduction, transformation or continuity Profiling Ter-Petrosyan’s elites: ex-Soviet nomenklatura, former Soviet dissidents and representatives of the Diaspora, 1991–8 Profiling Kocharyan’s elites: NK war veterans, Soviet- and Western-educated technocrats, Diaspora representatives and oligarchs, 1998–2008 Profiling Sargsyan’s elites: political nomads, 2008–16 Conclusion Notes 3 Constructing and deconstructing the national narrative Introduction Conceptualizing national identity and national interest Constructing the concepts: the role of elites Armenian ‘imagined community’ Across the millennia Soviet ‘acculturation’ The nation state or nation and state? Ter-Petrosyan’s nation building: concessions vs. survival Kocharyan’s state building narrative: ‘embracing survival’ Sargsyan: reimagining the imagined? Conclusion Notes 4 The nerve of Armenian politics: Nagorno-Karabakh Introduction From Arran to the Black Garden War and independence Over- or under-securitization? Ter-Petrosyan: the cost of the presidential chair Kocharyan: moving Stepanakert to Yerevan Sargsyan: more talks, fewer results Conclusion Notes 5 Turkey: confronting the past, surviving the present Introduction Ottoman Armenians: a stateless nation Genocide: survival and identity reinforcement Soviet–Turkish courtship Surviving or embracing the present? Ter-Petrosyan: ‘no eternal enemies’ Kocharyan: a permanent ‘the other’ Sargsyan: the in-between Conclusion Notes 6 Diaspora: Armenia’s failed marriage Introduction Diaspora: a reimagined community Armenians: a diaspora nation Myth and reality of the homeland Ter-Petrosyan’s underestimation Kocharyan’s ‘cash cow’ Sargsyan’s carrots and sticks Conclusion Notes 7 Zero axes Introduction: between East and West The love affair with Russia The West: restrained desire The camaraderie with Iran The significant insignificance of Georgia Joggling between the axes Ter-Petrosyan’s pro-Westernism and ‘balancing’ Kocharyan’s pro-Russian ‘complementarity’ Sargsyan’s pro-Armenian ‘zero axis’ Conclusion Notes 8 Conclusion Introduction Research Findings Viable conceptualizations Challenges What next? Epilogue Notes Appendix I: Contacted and interviewed politicians Appendix II: Interview questions Appendix III: Post-independence Armenia timeline Index