Surveillance

This Groong Week in Review covers Trump’s Iran ceasefire, failed US-Iran talks in Islamabad, the naval blockade, and Washington’s war politics. Asbed and Hovik also examine “Operation Kochari,” Shahin Mustafayev’s secret visit to Armenia, TRIPP, border demarcation, Armenia-Azerbaijan trade, Azerbaijan’s destruction of the Stepanakert cathedral, Pashinyan’s response, the MPG poll, opposition coalition math, election fraud risks, the EPC meeting, legal pressure, mass surveillance, and Armenia’s falling press freedom ranking.

In this Conversations on Groong episode, we speak with Arega Hovsepyan of the Strong Armenia party about Armenia’s upcoming June 2026 parliamentary elections and the broader political climate. The discussion focuses on recent arrests targeting opposition figures, the situation of displaced Artsakh Armenians, competing narratives around “peace” with Azerbaijan, and the implications of the TRIPP or Zangezur Corridor project. We also examine opposition unity, polling trends, and legal questions surrounding Strong Armenia’s political strategy.

Prof. Warwick Powell discusses his thermoeconomic view of world politics, where energy, money, and information form a single system. We connect the war on Iran to declining U.S. energy efficiency, the limits of airpower, de-dollarization, and the rise of alternative financial and information architectures. We also bring the conversation back to Armenia, asking what TRIPP, SMRs, and large AI data centers could mean for a small state trying to protect its energy and information sovereignty. We close by reflecting on considerations for Armenia in implementing centralized data infrastructure, more  Read More