GENERAL OVERVIEW

Agasi ENOKIAN

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Agasi Enokian, Assistant professor at the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy, Erevan State University (Erevan, Armenia)

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Armenia acquired its state independence in 1991 at the same time as the country became embroiled in the struggle for Karabakh’s self-determination. This is why the Karabakh problem always features among all the domestic political, economic, and security-related difficulties characteristic of the transition period. And 2005 was no exception. The Karabakh problem made a significant impact on foreign policy, while it also had an immense effect on domestic policy.

Another important aspect of the political processes of recent years is the government’s dubious legitimacy. The current team headed by President Robert Kocharian came to power in 1998 as the result of a coup. Since then, all elections (both presidential and parliamentary) have been held with what local and international observers have registered as grave violations. Today’s regime suffers from a constant dearth of legitimacy, which forces it to intensify the populist component in politics, on the one hand, and not shun dubious methods for fighting the opposition, on the other.

The opposition maintains that it won the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2003 and contended this victory throughout 2003 and 2004 by organizing peaceful mass protest demonstrations. They culminated in the meeting held in the early hours of 13 April, 2004 and its dispersion using troops and military hardware. After 2004, which was full of post-election unrest and various demarches by the government’s political adversaries, 2005 can be described as……………

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