Politics

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.

The security component of the Strategic Agenda incorporates Europe as an important part of Armenia’s developing security architecture, writes Nerses Kopalyan, where the confluence of hard power capacity and small-state resilience become integrated, at the institutional level, with European and Transatlantic standards.

Armenia’s political landscape has been shaken by leaked recordings, questionable surveillance, and criminal cases built on audio, sometimes of unknown origin. Hranoush Dermoyan examines the murky intersection of privacy, power and politics, revealing how wiretapping has become a tool of influence and pressure.

Armenia has lagged in global cybersecurity rankings, but new institutions, a comprehensive Cybersecurity Law, and alignment with EU standards signal a turning point. Albert Nerzetyan examines the country’s emerging governance framework, its structural advantages, and the challenges ahead in implementation.

What are the legal and ethical boundaries between privacy and public interest in democratic societies? Using the recent leaked video involving a senior Armenian cleric as context, Anoush Begoyan outlines established principles that distinguish legitimate scrutiny from voyeurism and scandal.

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.