ANN/Groong — The English-Language Armenian Podcast

Guest(s):

• Asbed Kotchikian
• George Tabakian

ANN/Groong Week in Review Episode 40 - Jan 10, 2021

Topics Covered:

• The State of the Opposition and their demands
• Update on the Border Positions between Armenia & Azerbaijan
• The State of the Line of Contact around Artsakh

Guests

• Asbed Kotchikian
• George Tabakian

Your Hosts:

• Asbed Bedrossian
• Hovik Manucharyan

Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210110.html Recorded: January 10, 2021

Guest(s):

• Maria Karapetyan

Conversation with My Step’s Maria Karapetyan - 01/08/2021

As protesters in the streets of Yerevan continue demanding the resignation of PM Nikol Pashinyan in the aftermath of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, the ruling My Step faction seems to be firmly on the side of the prime minister.

In the last week or so here at Groong we hosted representatives of various opposition parties and today we will host a representative from the ruling My Step faction to talk about the ongoing political crisis in Armenia.

Today we’re joined by:

Maria Karapetyan, who is a member

Guest(s):

• Arevik Anapiosyan

Research in Policy Making and Implementation (Ep #38) - 01/03/2021

Asbed Kotchikian is an associate professor of political science and international relations at the American University of Armenia, where he teaches courses on post-Soviet space and the Middle East.

Talks with

Arevik Anapiosyan is the Partnerships and Development Finance Advisor to the UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia, and has served as the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia. She co-founded and was the Executive Director of the Institute of Public

Guest(s):

• Tevan Poghosyan

Since the end of the first Nagorno-Karabakh war in 1994 and for over quarter of a century, Armenia has engaged in diplomatic activity with Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia and the West. The aim of those diplomatic initiatives was to find a solution to the conflict by engaging in direct diplomatic negotiations as well as track two diplomacy.

In September 2020, diplomatic initiatives gave way to a military one resulting in a war that reversed Armenia’s military successes and led to the signing of a cease-fire agreement which completely undermined Armenia’s position

Guest(s):

• Edmon Marukyan

Conversation with Bright Armenia’s Edmon Marukyan

Following the trilateral Karabakh ceasefire of Nov 9, all major political forces in Armenia (except for the ruling party) condemned Nikol Pashinyan’s agreement to the deal. While the dissatisfaction with the agreement is widespread, the opposition is not entirely unified on what to do next.

We’ll talk with the leader of one of the 2 parliamentary opposition factions, Bright Armenia about his, and his party’s vision and subsequent actions to be taken by Armenia.

What is Bright Armenia’s vision for post

Guest(s):

• Asbed Kotchikian
• Emil Sanamyan
• Irina Safaryan

ANN/Groong Week in Review Episode 35 - Dec 20, 2020

Topics Covered:

• Life in Artsakh
• Update on Hin Tagher & Khtsaberd
• Internal Political Situation in Yerevan
• Kapan Border Tension

Guests

• Asbed Kotchikian
• Irina Safaryan
• Emil Sanamyan

Your Hosts:

• Asbed Bedrossian
• Hovik Manucharyan

Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20201220.html Recorded: Dec 20, 2020

Guest(s):

• Arthur Khachatryan

Conversation with ARF’s Arthur Khachatryan

Following the trilateral Karabakh ceasefire of Nov 9, the Armenian opposition has nearly universally condemned Nikol Pashinyan’s agreement to the deal. The largest opposition grouping, called Movement of the Salvation of the Homeland (Հայրենիքի փրկության շաժում in Armenian), composed of 17 political parties including the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), Prosperous Armenia, and the Republican Party, are demanding Pashinyan’s immediate resignation and the appointment of their

Guest(s):

• Emil Sanamyan
• Pietro Shakarian

ANN/Groong Week in Review Episode 33 - Dec 13, 2020

Topics Covered:

• Renewed Fighting & the OSCE MG visit
• Expedited Border Demarcation?
• What will happen to Sotq?
• Diplomatic Relations with Azerbaijan?

Your Hosts:

• Asbed Bedrossian
• Hovik Manucharyan

Resident Panelists:

• Emil Sanamyan
• Pietro Shakarian

Recorded: Dec 13, 2020

Guest(s):

• Asbed Kotchikian
• Angela Harutyunyan

The Role of The Humanities and Social Studies in Armenian Life - 12/13/2020

Conversations on Groong

Academia and academic work, especially in the fields of humanities and social sciences, has always been instrumentalized by various ideologies and/or political regimes. Moreover, various disciplines within each of those fields such as anthropology, art history, literature, etc., have a long tradition of being the middle children of academia and are rarely considered to have a role in shaping minds and trends in society. In Armenia the roles of