Subscription and on-line sale:
http://pressinfo.am/en/journal/armenian-information-analytical-magazine-21-st-century.html

Purchase: “Noravank” Foundation
Address: 23/1 Garegin Njdeh, Yerevan,
Phone:+374 10 44 04 73, +374 93 54 31 71

DISTURBING DISPUTES ON EASTERN AND WESTERN ARMENIAN LANGUAGES

Zaven Yekavyan

NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE: GOAL AND MEANS

Hrant Ter-Abrahamyan

Resume

The article advocates the concepts that: (a) final establishment of a nation occurs in states and through states; (b) in a state, the nations become accomplished through various systems, such as political, military, spiritual and economic; (c) after the collapse of a state, the preserved national systems may become a basis for restoration of national independence, if conditions favor; (d) nations persevere and develop through existence and activities of their national systems, while the decay and collapse of the latter leads to decline of the “nation status”; (e) nation is first of all a political entity capable of making and implementing standalone decisions; and (f) as a political entity, a nation naturally tends to structure and restructure itself into a state.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND ARMENIAN DIASPORA IN 2008-2016

Edgar Hohannisyan

Resume

Over the last 25 years, the patterns of development in relations between Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora have been clearly connected with the approaches the three Presidents of Armenia have had towards the latter. These approaches were mainly determined with consideration of the role the Armenian Diaspora would have in both internal and external political issues of the Republic of Armenia.
The improvement of the relationships with the Armenian Diaspora is a crucial part of the political program of Serzh Sargsyan, the third President of the Republic. Several practical steps have been taken in this respect, such as the establishment of the Ministry of Diaspora, as well as the organization of Armenia-Diaspora Conferences, etc.
During the presidency of Serzh Sargsyan, the relations between Armenia and Diaspora were not without problems. Nonetheless, one thing is clear: Diaspora and its opinion have been important in the issues of nationwide significance. Moreover, the third president of Armenia made a suggestion to establish a new pan-Armenian organization, the Pan-Armenian Council, which will be a new format in the relations of Armenia and Diaspora.
Thus, during presidency of Serzh Sargsyan, the relations between Armenia and Diaspora have reached a new quality level.

CHINA AS A RESPONSIBLE POWER OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Mher Sahakyan

Resume

The article focuses on analyses of some aspects of the China’s foreign policy. It is worth mentioning, that after the end of the Cold War, China has been actively involved in the world affairs. It participates in negotiations on nuclear issues of Iran and DPRK. Beijing has an increasing role in the UN Peacekeeping operations. China is also involved in struggle against piracy and terrorism. In summary, China is a Responsible Power, which actively contributes to peace-building in the world and it tries to implement economic programs which can improve the global economic situation.

KARABAKH CONFLICT IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL POLITICS: A SMALL PART OF A BIGGER GAME

Astghik Gevorgyan

Resume

The escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on April 2, 2016 made it urgent to analyze the international situation in order to understand why the conflict was intensified exactly in that period of time, and what were the problems it intended to solve? The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is discussed in the article in the context of the relations among world powers in Syrian war and Ukrainian revolution.
Based on the official press releases, mass media publications, actions taken by states, the events in Armenia’s internal political arena, it can be concluded that the relations among the United States, Russia and European Union were reflected in Karabakh. This does not mean Azerbaijan had a passive role in unleashing violence. The relations between geopolitical powers impact the regional developments, but aggression comes from Azerbaijan. Therefore, the changes in the regional situation prompt Armenia to take decisive steps in order to ensure the solution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in favor of Armenia. The recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic with its further involvement in negotiation process can be one of such steps.

THE MINIMUM THRESHOLD FOR SCIENCE FUNDING AND THE PROBLEMS OF CREATING DEMAND FOR RESEARCH RESULTS AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION

Ashot Tavadyan

Resume

Adequate funding needs to be ensured for the effective implementation of a system of fundamental, applied as well as experimental research and development. Funding of science should not be below its "sensitivity threshold", that is, the minimum cost necessary to obtain closely interrelated fundamental and applied results. The main principle should be the priority financing of science, but the primary areas need to be funded in as broad range as possible, rather than in narrowly targeted manner.

THINK TANKS OF ISRAEL IN PUBLIC POLICY

Vardan Atoyan, Ruzanna Tadevosyan

Resume

The article discusses activities of Israel think tanks. The three main influential think tanks are reviewed in the article. The article touches upon current state of the art, peculiarities, main directions of research, influence on public policy, relations with state governing bodies and role in decision making process of the think tanks.
In the authors’ opinion think tanks of Israel play a significant role in public policy, while the regular increase of number and study of their relations with the political elite allows concluding about stable increase of their influence.

EXTRAPARLIAMENTARY CENTERS OF INFLUENCE ON POLITICAL DECISION-MAKING

Nunufar Stepanyan

Resume

Today, in political science literature much attention is focused on the decision-making policy mechanisms, that is, who are the actors of the decision-making, how the main decision-making process take place, what factors can influence on it, etc. In the framework of this article extraparliamentary centers of influence on political decision-making were studied, that is, the external centers of influence, which are not members of Parliament, but have the most immediate impact on the decision-making process.

MODERN STUDIES ON “SPIRITUAL SECURITY” CONCEPT IN THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

Gevorg Mkrtchyan

Resume

The study represents a brief analysis and discussion of the issues raised in the research “The Features of Spiritual Life in Yerevan”. The aim of the study is to clarify the meaning of the of “Spiritual Security” concept, activities of religious organizations, features of spiritual life among the youth of the Republic of Armenia RA and the scope of key issues of position, role and importance of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the life of the new generation, as well as further research process. The research touches upon the following questions: What ideas does the spiritual security include? Generally, how much is the youth’s spiritual security endangered in Yerevan? Do religious organizations pose a danger to people’s spiritual security? If yes, then which are the most endangered target groups? Is it necessary to struggle against these religious organizations?

THE ASPECTS OF THE DEFINITION AND APPLICATION OF "MEDIATIZATION" CONCEPT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF MODERN INFORMATION SOCIETY

Lilit Shakaryan

Resume

The article presents a theory of the influence media exert on a society and culture trying to answer the question how cultural and social institutions interact within the presence of intervening media. In this context, firstly, sociological theories were analyzed, and secondly, new social conditions were uncovered using mediatization as a key concept and theoretical basis for understanding interaction between the media, culture and society.
Traditionally, media have been conceived of as separate from society and culture, therefore researchers tend to study the effects certain mediated messages had on individuals and social institutions (e.g., the impact of advertising on consumer preference formation process, or political slogans effect on the people’s voting behavior). However, contemporary society is permeated by the media to an extent that the media can no longer be interpreted as separate from cultural and social institutions. Under these circumstances, it becomes a more important issue how social institutions and cultural processes have changed their nature, structure and functions in response to the media's ubiquitous existence.

ABOUT GEOPOLITICAL SECURITY OF A COUNTRY

Sasun Saribekyan

Resume

Geopolitical security of a country is the safety and security of the country from the escalation of geopolitical tension and the ability to quickly balance out the caused damage through the principles of international law, international treaties, constitutional, legislative and practical measures.
The especially important aspects for the geopolitical security of a country include the theoretical-methodological heritage and practically significant results of security research of different spheres of life (political, economic, military, demographic, cultural, ecological), various actors (particularly, of a country or ethnicity) and different subcategory levels of geographical space (world space, macro-regions, state territories). Importance is also attached to the knowledge about geopolitical programs and relevant ideas, concepts, theories, impact of international treaties and geopolitical processes (geopolitical expansion, globalization, regionalization, fragmentation etc).

THE CONCEPT OF COMPETITIVENESS AND ITS ECONOMIC CONTENT

Hasmik Khurshudyan

Resume

Changes in the global economy during the last three decades and their implications for the competitiveness of the developing countries are analysed in the article. Based on the works of different authors the definition of the competitiveness, as well as the approaches to and numerous, but contradictory opinions regarding the issue of competitiveness that exist in the economic literature are presented. Observing and comparing the advantages and disadvantages of different theoretical approaches, an attempt is made to understand the essence of the competitiveness and clarify its underlying factors.