Diaspora the comparative advantage for Armenia

Tatoul Manaserya

Ethno-Religious Heritage of Former Eastern Territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in Contemporary Poland

The main objective of this paper is to present the national and religious heritage of the Eastern Borderlands in contemporary Poland. The paper deals with the genesis and selected aspects of the spatial development of the ethnic and religious minorities (mainly Tartars-Muslims, Karaites and Armenians) that date back to the eastern areas of the former Republic (including the territories of Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine) but, due to the post-war border changes and migrations, formed clusters in contemporary Poland and organized various forms of group life

The Pattern of the Transformation of the Religious Life of the Armenian Diaspora in Ukraine: Conditions, Causes, Consquences

The article reveals the role of the Armenian Church in preserving the ethnic identity of Armenians in the diaspora on Ukrainian land. The transgression or adaptation of the religious and ecclesiastical sphere of Armenians to the new environment in Ukraine was a soft process, since it was a transition within a Christian society, and therefore not on religious, but on the confessional basis of Own /Christians, although Others. The specifics of the mentality, general algorithms of migration and incorporation into the new socio-cultural environment determined the main aspects of the transition of the religious and ecclesiastical sphere of Armenians into the alien cultural environment: the creation of their own autonomous religious locus, which became the center of the formation of the social topography of their colonies; legal registration and consolidation of the status of religious autonomy; parallel functioning of religious location of Armenians (not only the traditional Armenian Apostolic Church, but Orthodox/Chalсedonians as well as Catholic Armenians). In the diaspora, the necessity of Armenians to adapt to the landscape, climate, political, and socio-economic realities of the Kyiv and Galician-Volhynian States, and later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, should have led to appropriate adjustments in mentality and stereotype of behavior. This tendency was significantly strengthened by the Union1 processes. The changed mentality and stereotype of Armenian behavior made it possible to successfully unite the Ukrainian branch of the Armenian Apostolic Church with Rome. The Union with Rome fixed two main mental components of Armenians in diaspora: despite all the changes in rite, language, liturgy, laws, etc., they were still Armenians, but they became another, different Armenians, not like the Armenians of the ancestral homeland. Both the Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic churches have played a leading role in preserving the national cultural and historical memory of Armenians, which became a safety mechanism preventing the complete assimilation with the Ukrainian-Polish (Ukrainian-German, Ukrainian-Romanian and Ukrainian-Russian) environment

Border politics: the geopolitical implications of opening the Turkish-Armenian border

Since the independence of Armenia in 1991, relations with its western neighbor Turkey, has been on the agenda of the country’s successive administrations. After an initial warming up of the relations, the Turkish-Armenian border was closed for traffic. The economic arguments put aside, the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border also poses political implications which could influence not only the politics of both countries but also the overall geopolitics of the South Caucasus. Thus if Armenia and Turkey normalize their relations, a shift in the balance of power in the region would occur. This paper is an attempt to raise and examine the political issues related to the Turkish-Armenian border opening and the implications that it could have on the political outlook of Armenia as well as the geopolitical realignment in the South Caucasus. The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessaril

Double edge sword: The story of Armenians

This documentary reveals the truth about the Armenians in 1915 and the Armenian Diaspora- more specifically in Egypt. After over hundred years of massacres and displacement, how they have become an integral part of the Egyptian society? Thousands of Armenians came and settled down in Egypt as new home and Egypt truly became their second or rather their substitute home. Since then Armenian community played a critical role in building that cosmopolitan nation we are speaking about its glory now. In 19th century, the Egyptian Armenian community began to participate effectively in building the Modern Egypt we know now. After 1952 and the nationalization policies adopted by Gamal Abdel Nasser’s administration, many Egyptian Armenians left Egypt. The diminishing numbers of Egyptian Armenians certainly led to decreased potential and less integration in the Egyptian society. Although their number has declined, they again, are taking its stands in building Egypt. They do not consider themselves as foreigner but Egyptians with an Armenian origin. Armenians shaped Egypt’s history- politically, culturally, and socially. This production is searching for an answer to the question that is kept for over a centaury In 1915, one and half million Armenians were murdered In 2015, ten million Armenians live and still expandin