In an assessment published by the Bertelsmann Stuftung’s Transformation Index BTI 2014 blog, RSC Analyst Mikayel Zolyan reviews the course of Armenia’s state goal of joining the Eurasian Economic Union. In the 6 October analysis, Zolyan noted that “in the run-up to the Ukraine crisis, Armenia rejected an association agreement with the European Union in favor of cooperation with Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan,” but stressed that “the country’s future in the Eurasian Economic Union seems uncertain – and the door to Brussels might not be completely shut.”

http://blog.bti-project.org/news/details/1410/an-offer-yerevan-could-not-refuse/

On 3 October, the Regional Studies Center (RSC) held a special diplomatic simulation exercise, focusing on negotiations roleplay using the case study of the Northern Ireland conflict, with lessons for Nagorno Karabakh.

An insightful new policy paper co-authored by RSC Analyst Mikayel Zolyan offered a fresh look at the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and provided several important new policy recommendations. Written with the support of the Oslo-based Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and co-authored by Artak Ayunts, Mikayel Zolyan and Tigran Zakaryan, the policy paper will be published as a peer-reviewed academic article, and is a product of several months of collaborative desk research, expert interviews and focus group discussions conducted in the Spring and Summer 2014 in Armenia.

Led by RSC Analyst Mikayel Zolyan in the capacity of Project Coordinator, the RSC is engaged in a new two-year research project entitled, “In Search of a Foundation Myth: State-building and Representations of the Events 1988-1991 in the Political Discourse of the Republic of Armenia.” This new research project is conducted for the Academic Swiss Caucasus Net (ASCN), in a programme aimed at “strengthening research in the social sciences and humanities in the South Caucasus and helping to bring it up to European standards.”

The Regional Studies Center (RSC) and the UK Embassy in Armenia convened a public event on 17 September to offer an assessment of the NATO Wales Summit, with a focus on the implications for Armenia and the South Caucasus. The event featured presentations by UK Ambassador Kathy Leach, Mr. Willian Lahue, the Head of the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia, NATO/PFP Liaison Officer in South Caucasus; Mr. Koryun Nahapetyan, Chairman of the Armenian Parliamentary Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs; RSC Senior Analyst David Shahnazaryan; and RSC Director Richard Giragosian.