Where do Russia and the West fit into the new Armenian government?

Naira Hayrumyan

A month has passed since Armenia’s ‘violet revolution’. The country is being lead by a new prime minister who came from outside the old system, and the new government, young and energetic, is completely unalike any other government that has been in power before.

But what has changed in Armenia, both within the country and within its foreign relations, especially with Russia and the West?

Karabagh Goes “Happy,” Pharrell-Williams-Style

Giorgi Lomsadze

 

Disputed and destitute Nagorno Karabagh has become the latest place to produce a version of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” video, the fad which has gotten much of the world “clapping along.”

With funky dance moves and a vivacious collection of characters, “We Are Happy from Karabakh,” sponsored by the Los-Angeles-based Armenia Fund, does its best to make separatism look hip. British Baroness Caroline Cox, one of the breakaway territory's most prominent supporters, is featured rocking together with staff and patients at a clinic in the capital, Stepanakert. (*)

The Phantom Menace

This article in The New York Times (August 15, 2011) by two professors of Georgetown University about unrecognized states deserves some attention. It shows a fresh approach to the problems posed by them, especially under the stubborn insistence of the United States and other countries to stick to the one-sided narrative of "territorial integrity," which, if always followed in history, would have even prevented the Thirteen Colonies from seceding the British empire...

The example of Taiwan shows a way for these "phantom states." Although omitted, the example of Mountainous Karabagh also follows that path. "But transparent government, free elections and a peaceful foreign policy are as vital for phantom states as they are for real ones. If phantom governments behave well, they should be offered a path toward legitimacy by the world’s major powers," write the authors. Karabagh has not only free elections (more transparent than those in Armenia, unfortunately), but also a Constitution, as well as attempts to have a peaceful foreign policy, as much as Azerbaijani provocations do not become a hurdle to it.