The Armenian Experience: From Ancient Times to Independence

Description

Armenian national identity has long been associated with what has come to be known as the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Immersing the reader in the history, culture and politics of Armenia – from its foundations as the ancient kingdom of Urartu to the modern-day Republic – Gaïdz Minassian moves past the massacres embedded in the Armenian psyche to position the nation within contemporary global politics. An in-depth study of history and memory, The Armenian Experience examines the characteristics and sentiments of a national identity that spans the globe. Armenia lies in the heart of the Caucasus and once had an empire – under the rule of Tigranes the Great in the first century BC – that stretched from the Caspian to the Mediterranean seas. Beginning with an overview of Armenia's historic position at the crossroads between Rome and Persia, Minassian details invasions from antiquity to modern times by Arabs, Mongols, Ottomans, Persians and Russians right up to its Soviet experience, and drawing on Armenia's post-Soviet conflict with Azerbaijan in its attempts to reunify with the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. This book questions an Armenian self-identity dominated by its past and instead looks towards the future. Gaïdz Minassian emphasises the need to recognise that the Armenian story began well before the Genocide 1915, and continues as an on-going modern narrative. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Contents Acknowledgements Introduction The nebulous Armenian question The complexities of the question Domination Part I History and Memory: The Logics of Domination 1 International Domination An ‘internalized territory’ Sovereign Armenia Armenia under domination The Armenian Question, a multilateral issue Haitadism in motion Haitadism in slow motion A blocked Haitadism The three ordeals of Haitadism, 1915–1923 1915: physical extinction: The European concert The ARF and the CUP ‘Bloodletting’ 1920, political extinction: The double challenge An independent state, but for how long? What alliance for what protection? The Turkish neighbourhood Which national unity for which political project? 1923, diplomatic extinction: The Armenian Question overtaken Dashnaks and Bolsheviks 2 Political-Religious Domination The system’s contemporary avatars The impossible separation of the throne and the altar Neither fundamentalism nor secularism Traditionalism and messianism No political system Politics in the diaspora 3 Socio-Economic Domination Subject to systems of inequality Physical insecurity in the Ottoman Empire Risks of assimilation into the Russian Empire Sociology and religion Part II Attempts to Change the Course of History 4 The Revolutionary Movement, 1878–1914 Christaporism, the embodiment of politics Christapor and the ‘Bergsonian synthesis’ Hopes and disillusionment A spontaneous and organized movement 5 Grounding the History of a Fragmented Identity, 1920–1988 Reconstructing history through literature 6 Rebirth of the Sovereign State, 1988–1998 The Karabakh movements A paradigm shift Second or Third Republic? Third or Fourth Republic? To leave the war Anticipating the shock of globalization Reinventing identity Divergence with the diaspora The switch to a liberal utopia Part III The Power of Memory 7 The Haitadist Cultural Revolution, 1972–1991 Foundations of a new identity in crisis A Third World approach to identity Manifestations of the revolution A negative global balance sheet? 8 Turkey or the Unique Case of State Denial Between official historiography and state industry De-Kemalization and the Armenian Question 9 The Armenian Memorial State, from February 1998 to April 2018 Consolidate the foundations of the state by the cult of the past A national memory at the service of the State Pan-Armenian solidarity Politics before economics A European horizon A transnational diplomacy Sargsyan the chess player The impossible work of remembrance Accent on remembrance to avoid accountability to the population Remembrance as a denial of reality The road to the ‘Velvet Revolution’ . . . Part IV Beyond the Genocide 10 Democratizing Identity Armenia–diaspora relations to redefine Between vassalization and new breath What process for democratization? The principle of ‘win-win-win’ 11 Building Dialogue with the Turks Civil society against the Turkish state The emergence of a Turkish memory to revive the Armenian–Turkish past Why does Turkey refuse to acknowledge the genocide? The stakes of Turkish–Armenian normalization Actors involved in the dialogue Which Modus Operandi? 12 Encouraging the Commitment of the International and Academic Communities When security does not accord with peace Placing social sciences at the service of secure peace The future Conclusion First direction Second direction Third direction Fourth direction Bibliography Index