Armenia’s Laboratory of Democracy
What Can We Learn from Armenia’s Determined Fight for Democracy?
Welcome to another essay from Civic Way’s series on global democracies. The author, Will Arrington, is an advisor to Civic Way. Will has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a focus on the former Soviet Union and its satellite states. Will served as a Peace Corps volunteer where he was assigned to Armenia. He currently works in Washington DC.
Civic Way’s Comparative Democracy Series
The world’s democracies may come in many flavors, but they face similar challenges.
Some have strong central governments while others have federated structures. Some have an independent chief executive and some a parliamentary form. To meet the inherent challenges of democracies, many find it necessary to seek ways to refine and preserve their democracies.
Some variations in democracies are embodied in a nation’s constitution and laws. Others spring from historical, cultural or demographic factors. Learning about different ideas, and the risks they were intended to address, can yield promising ideas for improving our own democracy.
An Introduction to Armenia
Armenia is a small, landlocked nation in Western Asia, bordered by the nations of Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia and Turkey. Its three million people live on nearly 11,500 square miles (slightly larger than the state of Maryland). The population is 98 percent ethnic Armenians. It is Per the IMF, Armenia, with an estimated Gross Domestic Product of $17.7 billion, has the world’s 129th largest economy.
Armenia became an independent republic in 1991 upon the Soviet Union’s collapse. Since then, it has been plagued by economic turmoil, corruption and war with Azerbaijan, primarily over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region under ethnic Armenian control for nearly three decades but internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
In 2020, Armenia’s latest war with Azerbaijan ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire. Russian troops monitored the settlement amidst flareups and ceasefire violations. However, Armenian and Azerbaijan—in response to Russia’s disastrous attack on Ukraine—recently held peace talks without Russian involvement. The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute is likely to consume substantial Armenian attention and resources for some time.
Armenia’s steady climb toward democracy may be the more compelling story. In recent years, it has undergone a transformation that deserves far more attention than it has received.
Armenia’s Government Structure
Armenia has been a parliamentary democracy since 2015 when voters approved constitutional changes. Its national government has three branches:
Executive branch – The Prime Minister, as the chief executive offer, head of government and commander of the armed forces, appoints all cabinet positions. The President, selected by the National Assembly, performs only ceremonial duties.
Legislative branch – The National Assembly (Parliament) has at least 101 seats. The National Assembly recommends and confirms Central Election Commission (CEC) members for six-year terms.
Judicial branch – The Constitutional Court, comprising nine judges appointed by the National Assembly, is the nation’s top court. The Constitutional Court is Armenia’s final arbiter on constitutional and criminal issues.
Armenia is divided into 11 regions, with 10 provinces (each called a Marz), plus the capital region of Yerevan. Several hundred municipalities, classified as urban or rural, exist within each Marz.
An Overview of Armenia’s Democracy
Since 2018, Armenia has undertaken a dramatic—and difficult—drive toward democracy, and its progress is reflected in the global rankings.
The Democracy Index, for example, scored Armenia at 5.49 in 2021, up from only 3.88 in 2016 (and enabling it to escape the authoritarian regime category). The Freedom House scored Armenia at 55 (on its 100-point Global Freedom scale) in its 2022 Freedom in the World report. Armenia enjoys the highest overall democracy ratings in the Caucasus.
Armenia, with dozens of political parties, is pluralistic. The political ideologies vary, but stress certain themes. Resisting Azerbaijan and Turkey, eliminating corruption, advancing human rights and strengthening foreign relations. Party alliances comprise two or more political parties, including Armenia’s dominant political forces, the ruling Civil Contract Party and Armenian Alliance Party Alliance.
Arguably, the dominant issue in Armenian politics involves the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The economy of Armenia has been hurt in the absence of a complete resolution and Armenia's borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan remain closed. The 2020 conflict with Azerbaijan involved months of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh and the consequences of that conflict continue to deal a heavy toll to Armenia’s economy and political landscape.
Here are some other distinctive features of Armenia’s democracy:
Voting – Anyone living in Armenia for longer than one year before election day and registered may vote in a local election (national elections are reserved only for citizens).
Elections – National Assembly members are elected from party-supplied closed lists (i.e., voters choose parties but without determining the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected). To qualify for a seat, a party must win at least five percent of the votes and a party alliance must win at least seven percent. The Central Election Commission (CEC) oversees elections.
Executive branch – To form a government, a party or alliance must win at least 54 percent of the vote. If not, the two top parties compete in a second election 28 days after the first election. The party or alliance winning a majority in the second round forms the government. The ruling party or alliance of the National Assembly (Parliament) appoints the Prime Minister.
Legislative branch – The National Assembly must comprise at least three parties and its total seats can be increased to over 200 to ensure that opposition parties hold at least 30 percent of seats.
Legislative representation – Armenia has a closed list proportional representation system for the National Assembly. In addition, four seats are reserved for ethnic minorities (i.e., the Yazidis, Russians, Assyrians and Kurds).
Judicial branch – The Constitutional Court justices are strictly forbidden from political and business activities, including making speeches or comments on behalf of any political party.
Term limits – The President serves one seven-year term and Parliament members serve a five-year term. The Prime Minister does not have term limits but serves subject to the support of the National Assembly. Justices must retire from the bench by the age of 65.
Removal process – The National Assembly may impeach the Prime Minister, but the process cannot be initiated without the signatures of at least one-third of its members.
Armenia’s Recent Political Landscape
Before 2018, the Republican Party (HHK) was the ruling party. However, in 2018, the former Prime Minister Sargsyan reneged on his promise to leave office at the end of his term. This sparked massive antigovernment protests across the country, led by former journalist Nikol Pashinyan as he walked across the country, hosting rallies along the way. Bowing to public pressure, Sargsyan resigned. After a valid parliamentary election in May 2018, Pashinyan became Prime Minister.
After 2018, Armenia adopted democratic reforms. It banned corporate campaign donations, slashed individual campaign donation limits, reduced obstacles for new political parties and increased public campaign funding for small political parties. It also moved to enhance the judicial branch’s independence, eliminate systemic corruption, improve electoral systems and reinforce the rule of law.
In April 2021, after a confrontation with the military, Pashinyan resigned triggering snap elections. In the June 2021 elections—involving 22 political parties and four alliances—three parties won seats—the Civil Contract Party won 71 seats (54 percent), the new Armenia Alliance won 29 seats (21 percent) and the I Have Honor Alliance (led by former President Sargsyan) won 7 seats (5 percent). With its majority confirmed, the Civil Contract Party retained Pashinyan as Prime Minister. Despite claims of fraud by Sargsyan, the Constitutional Court upheld the election results.
Still, many challenges remain. Renewed fighting with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh threatens to disrupt national politics. New laws limiting press freedom and individual expression (e.g., banning efforts to contradict the government official COVID-19 releases), while ruled unconstitutional, could set the stage for possible future authoritarian measures. Pashinyan’s public dispute with the Constitutional Court over corruption charges could foreshadow future attacks on democratic institutions.
Possible Lessons for the US
Armenia stands as a modern-day reminder that democracy can be peacefully won, even under adverse circumstances, by the people. It can also just as easily be lost. The changes made have greatly improved Armenia’s international rankings, but whether that results in meaningful change in the lives of the average civilian remains to be seen.
Parties – More pluralism and meaningful input from multiple parties could improve government representation and constituent satisfaction.
Voting – While non-citizens comprise a sliver of the population, allowing them to participate in local elections increases their representation and potentially their interest in becoming citizens.
Elections – The Central Election Commission (CEC)’s election oversight role, coupled with their six-year terms, provides a promising way to ensure electoral integrity.
Executive branch – Requiring a legislative majority to form a government and appoint the Prime Minister decreases the prospects of polarized government.
Legislative branch – The National Assembly must comprise at least three parties and its total seats can be increased to over 200 to ensure that opposition parties hold at least 30 percent of seats.
Legislative representation – The closed-list proportional representation system ensures broader representation for smaller parties in the National Assembly.
Judicial branch – Unlike today’s Supreme Court justices, the justices of Armenia’s highest court are prohibited from outside political and business activity.
Term limits – While the Prime Minister does not have term limits, the National Assembly does. The retirement age for justices promotes some turnover.
Removal process – Making the Prime Minister’s impeachment process dependent on approval of the party that selected the Prime Minister could substantially weaken it as an accountability tool.
We cannot perfect our union without perfecting our democracy. This will require us to not only learn from our own successes and setbacks, but the feats and failures of other nations. Reviewing the successes of other nations and the barriers they overcame will help us strengthen our democracy.