The May 28 military parade in Yerevan was more than a showcase of new weapons. It revealed the contours of Armenia’s emerging “new army”, one built on diversified international partnerships, expanding domestic defense production and a determined effort to adapt to a transformed regional security landscape. In this in-depth analysis, Sossi Tatikyan examines what these changes mean for Armenia’s evolving military balance and regional security.

As Armenia’s parliamentary election campaign intensifies, the issue of Soviet-era enclaves between Armenia and Azerbaijan has re-emerged as a sensitive political and security question. Sossi Tatikyan explores their historical origins, legal status, international parallels and the possible scenarios being discussed within the peace process.

As modern conflict increasingly targets how societies think rather than what they control, Armenia faces growing exposure to cognitive warfare. Sossi Tatikyan explains the concept, maps its risks in Armenia’s post-war context, and outlines a resilience framework to strengthen cognitive security, public trust and democratic stability ahead of the 2026 elections and beyond.

As Armenia moves away from decades of security dependence on Russia, it is building a network of partnerships across the West, Eurasia and Asia. Sossi Tatikyan explores the opportunities, and geopolitical risks, of Armenia’s emerging multi-alignment strategy in an increasingly fragmented world.

J.D. Vance’s visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan signaled a deeper U.S. role in the South Caucasus, with new defense and nuclear agreements, AI cooperation and TRIPP connectivity. The parallel tracks pursued in both capitals raise important questions about balance, leverage and the future architecture of peace in the region. Sossi Tatikian explains.

Nationwide unrest and escalating repression in Iran are reshaping regional security dynamics, with growing risks of external escalation. For Armenia, the crisis heightens exposure to border instability, trade disruption, and diplomatic strain, testing Yerevan’s ability to balance relations amid a shifting deterrence landscape.

The 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy signals a shift toward sovereignty-centered, transactional realism. Sossi Tatikyan explores how this new doctrine reshapes U.S. engagement in the South Caucasus and its implications for Armenia’s security, diplomacy, peace process with Azerbaijan, and partnership with Washington.

France’s defense cooperation with Armenia marks a decisive shift in its policy toward the EU’s eastern periphery. Moving from symbolism to substance, Paris now helps Yerevan build deterrence and resilience, reshaping how sovereignty and stability interact in the South Caucasus. Sossi Tatikyan explains.

Armenia’s pursuit of a strategic partnership with China and its bid to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) reflect a broader effort to recalibrate foreign policy amid shifting global alignments, balancing ambition with constraint in an increasingly multipolar world.

Five years after the 2020 war, Aliyev and Pashinyan addressed the UNGA with sharply contrasting narratives. Aliyev employed cognitive warfare to assert dominance and legitimize past aggression, while Pashinyan exercised narrative constraint, emphasizing sovereignty, reciprocity and constructive peacebuilding. Sossi Tatikyan explains.