Armenia State of Democracy

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Armenia State of Democracy
Democracy in Armenia A distant utopia or
tangible future?

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ARMENIA IS A DEMOCRATIC STATE

• How far western-centric model of liberal
  democracy can travel far?
• Broad and universal measures of democracy
• Peculiarities of Armenian setting and import
  conditions
• Consolidation, institutionalization and
  legitimation of democratic rule in Armenia is
  handled.
• Allegations and skepticisms is fruitless.

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Big powers use some rigid standards of
westerndemocratic system to press on Armenia and
promote their interests in the region.

• DEMOCRACY
• Western Approach
• static, strictly outlined schematic legal order
• implement in the concrete short-time period
• Copying a western political model
• Synchronic process based on calendar time
• We import today what exists today ignoring
  historical time.

• ASSESMENT
• New Approach
• Democracy is not only the set of rules,
  procedures and institutions
• practice that has to be constantly reproduced
• dynamic, not artificial concept
• Not event, but process influenced by environment
  in which it is operating
• democracy can not be the same all over the would.
  

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Main Allegations of West

• Armenia was unable to get reed of
• totalitarian heritage
• Democratic reforms has failed
• The autocratic rule is reestablished.

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Armenia is neither autocracy nor anarchy.

• Totalitarian Regime
• Imposed Official mobilizing ideology.
• Single mass party.
• Monopoly of mass communication.
• System of terrorist police control
• Monopoly of mass coercion.

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Major steps insuring the rule of law and
democratic way of government are already
undertaken in Armenia.

• Formation of power bodies through elections due
  to the existing multi-party system.
• Separation of legislative, executive and
  judiciary branches of power and the provision for
  checks and balances.
• A shift in the economic role of the State -
  transferring most of the production functions to
  private entrepreneurs. The sustainable economic
  growth is maintained.
• Adoption set of legal norms necessary for the
  protection of human rights and freedoms. The
  institution of Ombudsmen is established.
• Reforms of the legal system. The New Civil Code,
  Code of Civil Procedure and Code of Criminal
  Procedure and other Codes were adopted, which
  secure basic human rights.
• The relationship between political and
  administrative spectrums is already defined and
  based on the notion of neutrality and
  professionalism.
• Development of a new framework for local
  self-government.
• Local government have formal right to handle
  the issues of local importance, has own budgetary
  revenue sources and mechanisms to secure the
  population participation in local level decision
  making.

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Democracy With Major Flowsor Unique Form
of Democracy CONSTITUTION

• ITs fist article proclaims the Republic of
  Armenia sovereign, democratic state, based on
  social justice and the rule of law.
• IT authorizes Armenian citizens to exercise their
  power through free elections and referenda, as
  well as through state and local self-governing
  bodies and public officials.

• IT provides with the
• separation of powers however, the directly
  elected president has broader power.
• IT also may hinder some
• freedoms of citizens by providing the
  government extra power during the emergency.

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Democracy With Major Flowsor Unique Form of
Democracy CONSTITUTION

• Armenian Constitution is more democratic in its
  wordings then the American Constitution.
• American Constitution does not contain any word
  mentioning democracy.
• The very essence of American Constitution was not
  the establishment of the democratic government,
  but the foundation of republic.
• US Constitution adopted in 1787 in Philadelphia,
  did not forbid the slavery.
• Can we claim that United Stat sees to be
  democratic because of its constitution.
• Both constitutions promoted the democratic system
  of government.

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Semi-presidential vs. Parliamentary systems

• More appropriate for the Armenian context
• lack of parliamentary traditions
• not very strong party system
• lasting history of charismatic
• leadership
• relatively new tradition of rational-legal
  legitimacy.

• Advantages of semi-presidential system
• escape the usurpation of power by either branch
  of government.
• secures from the major crisis caused by cabinet
  instability which is the major shortcoming of
  parliamentary system.
• makes possible shifts during the crisis towards
  the presidential or parliamentary systems.

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Gradual Reforms vs. Immediate IndependenceJudicia
ry Local Government

• Judicial system and Local Governments are
• on their way of formation.
• Corruption that is major problem for most
• newly established and also old democracies
• Lack of expertise
• Lack of finance
• Democracy is not sustained in a day.
• It is hard endless process of creation and
  establishment of democratic institutions, that
  during crisis should compensate each other.
• The stronger position of president is more then
  desirable in order to avoid regime crisis.

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Lack of Free Fair Elections or Political Game

• According to some international observers both
  the 2003 presidential and parliamentary elections
  was well below international standards.
• Major inconsistency between the opinions and
  assessments of different international observers.
• Elections monitoring is the major political tool
  in the hands of different Great powers to promote
  their interests
• There are not universally approved standards
  measuring how much the elections are free and
  fear. Some criteria employed by the different
  organizations are quite controversial.
• Elections conducted in most advanced democratic
  countries sometimes rise the same questions about
  the fairness and representation of electorate.

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Civil Society Human
Rights
Protection

• ability to consolidate around the important
  problems
• more then 1000 registered NGOs.

• international mechanisms protecting the human
  rights have many loopholes that hinder the
  promotion of human rights all over the would.
• The measures are not clear and structured in the
  form of major objectives not the real standards.

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• Armenia is a democratic state with the unique
  form of democracy.
• It is adjusted to the
• unique nature of
• political socio-economic
• and cultural dimensions
• of the country.
• This adjustment made
• the democracy in Armenia
• not the fiction, but the real
• working process.

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Armenia State of Democracy
Democracy in Armenia A distant utopia or
tangible future?