An independent think tank in Armenia that informs policymakers and the public about regional developments, Armenia’s foreign policy, security environment, and democratic trajectory, fostering evidence-based research and collaboration.
On September 23, the Regional Center for Democracy and Security (RCDS) hosted a discussion on deaths in Armenia’s Armed Forces during peacetime. The discussion featured Artur Sakunts, President of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office; Vilen Gabrielyan, Chair of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defense and Security Affairs; and Colonel (Ret.) Grigory Sahakyan. The […]
On August 29–30, the Regional Center for Democracy and Security organized a two-day retreat focused on strategic planning as part of the “Enhancing Democratic Inclusion of Nagorno-Karabakh Refugees” project. The event brought together representatives of the groups that participated in the five workshops organized within the framework of the project. During the two-day meeting, participants […]
On August 20, the Regional Center for Democracy and Security held a discussion on the interim results of housing programs for persons forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. The speakers were Gayane Gharagyozyan, an adviser coordinating specific functions within the structural subdivisions of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and lawyer Anush Shahramanyan. The discussion was […]
On July 31, the Regional Center for Democracy and Security (RCDS) hosted a public discussion titled “Armenia’s Democratic Trajectory After the Elections.” The discussion brought together RCDS Director Tigran Grigoryan, CivilNet Editor-in-Chief Karen Harutyunyan, and Narek Sukiasyan, a researcher at the Center for Civilization and Cultural Studies. The discussion was moderated by RCDS expert Hayk […]
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The Regional Center for Democracy and Security (RCDS) has published its final report examining hate speech targeting Nagorno-Karabakh refugees during Armenia’s June 2026 parliamentary elections and the period immediately following them. Based on four months of monitoring, the report documents the main narratives used to stigmatize and marginalize refugees, the political figures and pro-government media […]
By Tigran Grigoryan Over the past week, public debate in Armenia has centered on an incident in the village of Shaki in the southern Syunik region. An armed Azerbaijani soldier who had gone AWOL days earlier and crossed the Armenian border ended up, unnoticed, 15 kilometers inside Armenian territory, at a house in Shaki, where […]
By Tigran Grigoryan The practice of initiating criminal proceedings against critics of the ruling party based on their public statements has been one of the important manifestations of democratic backsliding in Armenia in recent years. When the provision criminalizing “grave insult” was decriminalized in 2022 under public pressure, the practice of criminal prosecution for public […]
By Eduard ArakelyanIn September, Russian President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly declared that Russia was ready to withdraw its military base from Gyumri if the Armenian authorities decided that they did not need it. Armenia, speaking through its prime minister, responded that it would not seek the withdrawal of the base, but would also not object if […]
