Tag: security

Expectations and optimism are often the primary drivers of investment activity. It’s easy to be negative in the current times that Armenia is living, however, hope and optimism are key to inspiring drive, effort and motivation, especially when Armenia needs it most.

If we can achieve consistent stillness, focus and wisdom that can be called upon even in the most trying situations, then we obtain a ferocious capacity to build and grow, writes Sheila Paylan, whose frequent flights have helped her learn the art of letting go.

In Part II of a two-part series examining Armenia’s pivot to the West, Gaidz Minassian examines the question of the reliability of the partnership with Americans and Europeans.

In the ever-evolving landscape of modern warfare, the significance of cyber operations has grown significantly, providing nations with additional means to project power, exert influence and secure strategic advantages. Davit Khachatryan looks at the contemporary nature of conflicts in the digital age and their adherence to the foundational principles established by the UN.

An institutional theory of security is necessary for Armenia so that it escapes institutional underdevelopment and the culture of inchoate security thinking inherited from the Soviet legacy, writes Nerses Kopalyan for the December 2023 security report.

In this last podcast for the year, EVN Report’s Maria Titizian and Roubina Margossian speak about the events of 2023: the blockade of Artsakh, followed by Azerbaijan’s attack on September 19, the total ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh, Armenia’s efforts to diversity its security and foreign policy, Yerevan elections and more.

More than three decades after Armenia's independence, Canada finally opened its embassy in Yerevan. Canada's first resident Ambassador Andrew Turner, a career diplomat, speaks to EVN Report's Maria Titizian about the journey to establish an embassy and Canada's strong commitment to support Armenia's democracy and security.

EVN Report's Editor-in-Chief Maria Titizian speaks with Dr. Nerses Kopalyan, author of the monthly series "EVN Security Report" about regional dynamics in November that demonstrated acute developments on track to produce unanticipated realignments, altering Armenia’s security environment and enhancing its security and foreign policy diversification.

EVN Report's Editor-in-Chief Maria Titizian speaks with Dr. Nerses Kopalyan, author of the monthly series "EVN Security Report" who explains the madman theory, a strategy in coercive bargaining, where the perceived extremism of an actor is leveraged to achieve one-sided outcomes. In this context, Kopalyan explains how Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s bargaining posture operates off of the logic that if his terms are not met, he reserves the right to wage war, thus anchoring the threat of destruction to force acquiescence from Armenia and the international community.

State-backed Azerbaijani “eco-activists” shut down the Lachin Corridor back in December 2022 placing Artsakh in a blockade. This was followed by the installment of an illegal Azerbaijani checkpoint on the Hakari Bridge on the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border, further strangulating the Armenian population. Live updates as the siege of Artsakh continues.

Azerbaijan’s threat of military aggression and ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh’s indigenous Armenian population remains extremely critical. If not prevented, it will constitute another major blow to the international order.

Baku does not want an equitable peace, the West struggles to advance the negotiations, and Moscow prefers freezing the process to create a new status quo it can control. Yerevan will need to enhance its bargaining abilities by engaging in asymmetrical aggressive bargaining.

Armenian experts were hardly under the illusion that the CSTO would fulfill its statutory obligations toward Armenia, given strong military and political ties between Azerbaijan and some CSTO members.

In Nagorno-Karabakh, the consequences of upholding Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity entails the imminent threat to the indigenous Armenian population that is no different than Kosovo, Timor-Leste or South Sudan: the inevitability of ethnic cleaning and genocide.

After almost three decades of remaining on the sidelines of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict negotiation process, the EU has now stepped in, positioning itself as a mediator in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conciliation process.

Azerbaijan has made an enormous strategic mistake, Russia has allowed for a sizable power vacuum in the region, and the United States has determined to capitalize on these developments, undertaking a policy pivot in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched a major attack on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia at approximately midnight on September 13, 2022. A US-brokered ceasefire came into effect late on the evening of September 14, which continues to hold.

Exploring the emerging AI industry landscape in Armenia is necessary to ensure not only that the country is in a position to advance the benefits of the “ideologized” technology, but also the resolve to mitigate future risks.

Liana Karapetyan, an associate at SmartGateVC and the director of Hero House Angels, joins us this week to discuss angel investing opportunities in Armenian start-ups. The Hero House Angels program allows individual investors from around the world to be connected with the Armenian start-up ecosystem and make investments. We also discussed Armenia’s ecosystem's trajectory as the number of start-ups in the country grows.

Almost all systemic and structural political and military weaknesses of Armenia share a fundamental root cause: the chronic absence of a culture and tradition of Statehood, both in the mindset of the political leadership and the general public.

A new security environment was created after the 2020 Artsakh War, requiring a revision of Armenia’s National Security Strategy that was adopted before Azerbaijan launched the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Hovsep Kanadyan explains.

Latest developments in Nagorno-Karabakh demonstrate Azerbaijan’s intent to ethnically cleanse the indigenous Armenian population and highlight the necessity of introducing international norms in the peacekeeping architecture there.

Amid the war in Ukraine and economic turmoil in Russia, the Armenian government has been quick to open its doors to Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian citizens who want to relocate to Armenia or find temporary refuge.

Armenia and Ukraine seem to have found themselves diametrically opposed on a variety of issues. However, Yerevan and Kyiv would benefit from a pragmatic relationship despite their seemingly disparate positions.

By extending its expansionism from land to sea, straining regional relationships and traditional alliances, Turkey is testing its limits and can expect to find itself in deeper conflicts when it finally reaches them.

Developments after the 2020 Artsakh War reveal that Azerbaijan has no intention to work toward regional peace and stability. Together with Turkey, Baku aims to change the regional structure at the expense of Armenia’s security interests and needs.

Securing a technological edge is critical to the competitiveness of the Armenian Armed Forces. Yet reforming the military’s technology ecosystem in isolation will not resolve the country’s festering security woes.

One of the most important dimensions of Armenian-EU cooperation is the energy sector. The EU has expressed a willingness to support Armenia in designing an energy strategy and policy, including security and diversification of the energy supply.

After a bitter election campaign, three political forces are poised to enter parliament. What they do and how they behave will determine the future of the country.

A new poll casts the electorate as largely pessimistic about the candidates and largely undecided. The findings demonstrate that acting PM Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract would win the plurality of the votes but fall short of securing a single-party majority government.

Armenian citizens are heading to the polls on June 20 in an early parliamentary election. Over 20 parties and alliances of parties are running. Here are the defense and security sections of the programs of seven of those political forces in order of their position on the ballot.

Armenia’s security infrastructure requires a robust defense doctrine, expansive reforms, rearticulation of geopolitical and geostrategic realities, closing the gap in power disparity with regional actors and competent institutional structures.

Nine days after Azerbaijani Armed Forces crossed into Armenian territory in the Syunik and Gegharkunik regions, the standoff continues. The absence of a resolution and the potential of a military confrontation has the people of Armenia on edge. Here is a timeline of events.

A day after the trilateral agreement ending the 2020 Artsakh War was signed, the first contingents of Russian peacekeepers were deployed. Six months in, clarifications regarding the size, mandate and mission of the peacekeepers are still not clear.

Armenia is at the wrong end of global cyber security indexes. The lack of a comprehensive cyber security national policy makes the country's network and information systems vulnerable. The 2020 Artsakh War clearly proved this.

Following the First Karabakh War, landmines and explosive remnants of war became a major hazard for civilians. Today, four regions of Armenia are still contaminated with unexploded ordnance, impacting over 35,000 residents.

Armenia’s Government must quickly shape a coherent and powerful vision of what it wants to gain from the transport talks. If they get it wrong, the country is at risk of being outmaneuvered by Azerbaijan and taken advantage of by Russia.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are highly incentivized to make the Meghri corridor a reality as soon as possible. For Azerbaijan it’s to have a direct link with its exclave of Nakhijevan. For Turkey, it opens up a direct connection with Azerbaijan and the Turkic world beyond.

When Armenia declared independence in 1991, there was still a large contingent of Soviet troops in the country. Russian military presence, however, stretches back to the early 19th century and now, after the 2020 Artsakh War, is expanding.

Many assumed that Turkey’s direct involvement in the 2020 Artsakh War and thereby its intrusion into Russia’s “near abroad” would be met with hostility by Russia, or at least vocal condemnation. The reaction was mild, writes Zaven Sargsian.

Armenia can either unify around a shared vision for the future or digress into internal political strife. Artin DerSimonian explores what a unified Armenian vision for the future could include if the country is to continue on the path of healthy socio-economic development.

We have a maximum of five years to significantly improve the security of the country along a number of fronts, requiring a collective will, sacrifices, trade-offs and personal choices unlike anything most of us have faced in our lifetimes, writes Raffi Kassarjian.

For over a century, almost every generation has experienced a disruption of continuity, security and safety, resulting in a cycle of upheaval, writes Maria Titizian.

Armenia’s Security Council recently introduced a new National Security Strategy after a 13-year hiatus. Vahram Ter-Matevosyan writes that while it is an important milestone and invested efforts are praiseworthy, the document, with a few exceptions, is inward-looking and unambitious.

Border settlements are unequivocally and strategically vital for the security of Armenia and Artsakh. Protecting them militarily, economically and socially needs to be a national priority.

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was established in 2015 with the objective of creating a shared economic space with a single customs union. This Fact Sheet about the EAEU provides a closer look at its membership, it purpose, its weaknesses and more. It is part of a larger project, “Understanding the Region: The Caucasus and Beyond.”

A draft document penned by an independent government regulator has raised important questions about digital privacy. Though the proposal definitely has issues, the rumors it sparked are alarmist and exaggerated.

Can the popularity of the National Security Service be sustained after the dismissal of Artur Vanetsyan? It can, but only through one mechanism: rigid institutionalization and the complete alleviation of the personalization of politics in Armenia.

Armenia is set to have a new National Security Strategy. The current strategy, adopted in January 2007, had all the necessary components, but was outdated and remained a largely superficial and declarative document as many of the defined values and principles were not fully respected or promoted.

Armenia’s Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, located in a seismically active area, was designed to be decommissioned in 2016. It has been a topic of debate and discussion in Armenian society for decades. Justin Tomczyk takes a closer look.

Environmental lawyer Artur Grigoryan writes that many countries, including Armenia, often protect the financial interests of mining companies and their shareholders more than the vital human rights of their own citizens.

A historic post-revolution vote will take place across Armenia on December 7. As Armenians head to the polls to elect a new parliament, EVN Report brings you live updates of the vote.

The election campaign for the upcoming snap parliamentary elections is in full swing. In this second installment, read about the main provisions and principles (translated from the original Armenian) from the campaign programs of the following political forces: Bright Armenia, National Progress, Sasna Tsrer, Country of Law, Prosperous Armenia, Citizen's Decision.

The election campaign for the upcoming snap parliamentary elections is in full swing. There are nine political parties and two coalition forces running for a seat in the country’s National Assembly. In a series of installments, EVN Report will present the main provisions and principles (translated from the original Armenian) from the campaign programs of those political forces.

Defining terrorism is the most ambiguous component in terrorism studies, writes Smbat Khachaturian. In light of the current geopolitical situation, the high level of terrorist threats in the region, as well as the transformation of terrorism itself, Armenia must precisely define terrorism and draft a new anti-terrorism law.

The only thing this fairy tale needs to become a reality is peace and peace perhaps needs a fairy tale.

In this second of a two-part series, Mikayel Zolyan looks at the external threats to the Armenian revolution. He writes that while security concerns continue to be real, the Armenian government and society need to make sure that the government system is well-functioning and ready to face external challenges.

As the world becomes increasingly connected, states are adopting national strategies to protect themselves against cybersecurity breaches. This article outlines the ongoing debate around the terms ‘information security’ and ‘cybersecurity’ and examines global developments, as well as, Armenia’s institutional and policy advancements.

A close look at cyber operations against Armenian state and non-state institutions, as well as individuals highlights a number of well known cases behind which are state-sponsored hacker groups or even state structures themselves. Samvel Martirosyan writes about how Armenia, in recent years, has become a subject of interest in almost all major cyber investigations.

Today, the demand for increased agricultural productivity to ensure food security, the use of genetically engineered crops and powerful conglomerates that control most of the world’s seed industry like Monsanto are threatening the lives and livelihoods of small farmers all over the world. This contentious global debate has now found its way to Armenia. EVN Report investigates.

Vahram Ter-Matevosyan writes that it is difficult to measure just how much the average Armenian was satisfied with the explanations the government provided about the scope of casualties and destruction during the April escalation. While the government was quick to praise the heroes of the war, it failed to punish those whose task it was to ensure the army was free of corruption allegations.

Security expert Samvel Martirosyan writes that Armenia and Azerbaijan are not only waging war on the battlefield but in the media, through social networks, on academic platforms - all platforms where it is possible to disseminate information and propaganda.