Self-determined citizens? New forms of civic activism and citizenship in Armenia

This article examines the recent emergence and growth of grassroots social movements in Armenia which are locally known as ‘civic initiatives’. It considers what their emergence tells us about the development of civil society and the changing understandings and practices of citizenship in Armenia in the post-Soviet period. It analyses why civic initiatives explicitly reject and distance themselves from formal, professionalised NGOs and what new models of civic activism and citizenship they have introduced. It argues that civic initiatives embrace a more political understanding of civil society than that which was introduced by Western donors in the 1990s

Chechen demographic growth as a reaction to conflict:the views of Chechens

This article presents the views of émigré Chechens on the reasons behind the particular patterns of demographic growth of Chechnya. The main driving force, identified by the respondents interviewed in the research, is the fear of national extinction. The traditional obligation for Chechen men to defend the homeland adds another explanation: the Chechen respondents consider demographic growth to be related to preparedness for war. Both explanations are related to the perception of Russia as an imminent threat. A range of other factors was mentioned by smaller numbers of respondents. The article concludes that Chechen demographic growth is related to the unresolved Russo–Chechen conflict