The 2018 Armenian “Velvet Revolution” aspired to fundamentally transform Armenian society and the political landscape of the country. Mass peaceful protests and the resulting change in government continue to serve as sources of both popular inspiration and numerous questions among practitioners and scholars alike. For example, in September 2018, the UN Secretary-General mentioned Armenia as a ‘fantastic example … of hope’ in his address to the UN General Assembly; in December, the Economist named Armenia ‘country of the year.’ One year after the change of government, what has Armenia achieved and what are the challenges ahead? How does Armenia compare to other countries that experienced massive anti-government protests that did or did not result in sudden government changes?

This two-day conference brought together social scientists from Armenia and abroad to discuss various aspects of the “Velvet Revolution” and its aftermath, one-and-half years after the dramatic events. The goal is to critically reflect on the Armenian developments and to place them in the broader context of similar events worldwide.

Click here to view the official webpage for the conference.

The main target community is that of scholars working in political science and international relations, but contributions from the fields of economics, media studies, sociology, history, anthropology, legal studies and other overlapping disciplines are welcome. The conference will seek to place Armenia in the larger regional context, comparing it with other post-Soviet or Middle Eastern countries with successful or failed attempts at similar social and political transformations. Papers from (about) Serbia, Georgia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Russia, and the Middle Eastern countries involved in the Arab Spring uprisings are particularly welcome.