{"id":677,"date":"2019-11-27T21:01:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T21:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?p=677"},"modified":"2024-09-04T18:34:15","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T18:34:15","slug":"armenia-first-behind-the-rise-of-armenias-alt-right-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?p=677","title":{"rendered":"\u201cArmenia first\u201d: behind the rise of Armenia\u2019s alt-right scene"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Armen Grigoryan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\nArmenia\u2019s 2018 revolution may have pushed a kleptocratic regime out of power, but today the country\u2019s conservative agenda is radicalising under new conditions.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

2018 is fast becoming a turning point in the history of Armenia. After a civil disobedience campaign ousted Serzh Sargsyan from office in April 2018 \u2013 only six days after finishing his second presidential term and being appointed Prime Minister \u2013 the country held its first elections in two decades without widespread fraud or violence against the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of this upheaval, The Economist<\/em> named<\/a> Armenia \u201ccountry of the year\u201d. But the magazine added a suitable warning: \u201cA stellar performance in one year is no guarantee of future success.\u201d While there were grounds for cautious optimism, it could also be expected that a more complex period – of democratic consolidation accompanied by difficult and often unpopular reforms – lay ahead in Armenia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent poll<\/a> by the International Republican Institute showed declining but still relatively high public support for Nikol Pashinyan\u2019s government: 69% of respondents view last year\u2019s change of government positively, a significant reduction from 82% in October 2018. This declining support is understandable. The post-revolutionary euphoria could not last long and, quite predictably, Armenia has not experienced an immediate economic breakthrough. More than 60% of poll respondents want the government to undertake political and economic reforms quickly rather than gradually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2018 \u201cVelvet Revolution\u201d was a heavy blow to the Republican Party (RPA), the former ruling bloc which is currently out of parliament after receiving 4.7% of votes at the December 2018 elections. According to the IRI poll, while the RPA would likely pass the 5% electoral threshold if elections were held now, it also enjoys the highest negative rating: 56% of poll respondents said they would never vote for it. By contrast, in 2017, the party used its control over virtually all state institutions to achieve a two-thirds parliamentary majority. Before that, in 2014, the Republicans had expressed their ambition to remain the ruling party for at least another decade<\/a>, while President Sargsyan claimed that membership of the Republican Party would be \u201cthe main, if not only\u201d career choice for people aspiring to higher office in Armenia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article examines the relatively new methods of manipulating public opinion used by groups connected to Armenia\u2019s former regime and its allies. As the Republican Party continues to control significant media and other resources, the importance of disinformation, fake news and influence campaigns has grown. Even though the messages may seem primitive, they are continuously reproduced by a number of sources, including media and civil society structures claiming to be independent. This means their influence may gradually increase. Ultimately, populism fuelled by fake news could threaten Armenia\u2019s fragile democracy which is still in the process of consolidation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

full article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Armen Grigoryan Armenia\u2019s 2018 revolution may have pushed a kleptocratic regime out of power, but today the country\u2019s conservative agenda is radicalising under new conditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-publications"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cArmenia first\u201d: behind the rise of Armenia\u2019s alt-right scene - Democratic Security Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?p=677\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cArmenia first\u201d: behind the rise of Armenia\u2019s alt-right scene - 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