PSIA Professors Publish Article in Leading Scholarly Journal

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YEREVAN, Armenia — American University of Armenia (AUA) Political Science and International Affairs (PSIA) program Associate Professor Dr. Vahram Ter-Matevosyan and Adjunct Lecturer Dr. Hovhannes Nikoghosyan recently published an article in the Southeast European and Black Sea Studies journal (Impact Factor: 2.718 (2021)).

The article, titled “From ‘revolution’ to war: deciphering Armenia’s populist foreign policy-making process,” reflects on the series of dramatic events Armenia has experienced since April 2018 until the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Drs. Ter-Matevosyan and Nikoghosyan analyzed data gathered from 30 semi-structured interviews they conducted with high-ranking incumbent and former government officials of the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh. 

The research examines the foreign policy-making process of the Armenian government, exploring the extent to which leadership style has affected decision-making and consequent outcomes. The authors argue that the incoherent and erratic nature of the new regime’s policy formulation and enactment, which underestimated acute security challenges and degraded existing institutional checks and balances, caused unprecedented wreckage to Armenia’s national security architecture.

A product of a three-year-long research, the article is published with Open Access, which will likely invite a larger readership. Part of this research has been generously supported by a grant from the University of Southern California Institute of Armenian Studies in partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Armenian Communities Department.

The Political Science and International Affairs (PSIA) program of the American University of Armenia (AUA) equips students with advanced analytical reasoning, critical thinking, and communication skills through the study of political science and international affairs, emphasizing local and global perspectives and practical applications of theory. The program provides world-class teaching and research, producing graduates who can best contribute to the development of the nation.