Dynamics between society, regime, civil society and political parties in Armenia?

Characteristics of the Main Actors Society Passive, apathetic; Domination of patron-client relationships; Major form of social protest – emigration; Active part is small and far from having critical mass.; Proliferation of civic initiatives, though results of their activities were modest.

Characteristics of the Main Actors Regime Consolidating authoritarianism (according to the FH typology); Relatively effective combination of repressive and restrictive strategies; Coexistence of informal and formal governments (will become even more vivid after 2017 parliamentary elections); Convergence of business and political elites;

Characteristics of the Main Actors Oligarchic, with the dominance of importing capital; Formally espouses conservative-nationalistic ideology, but in reality is evolving to nomenklatura –ruled; Formally secular, but discriminating other religious communities by favoring the Armenian Apostolic Church; Complementary foreign policy; Systemic corruption.

Characteristics of the Main Actors Political Parties Most of them are very small; Financially not sustainable; though some of them secretly receive money from “oligarchs”; Serve as entourage for the ruling party; Most of them have no clear ideology; Lack of serious and comprehensive programs; One-man show in most cases.

Characteristics of the Main Actors Civil society Almost completely depending on donor funding; Not influential, also because of people’s mentality (“we or CSOs can’t do anything, only the state can”); Large number of GONGOs; Limited successes in certain areas.