Civic Activism as a Novel Component of Armenian Civil Society

The ‘real’ organisations are few; aside from those, the more than 4,000 NGOs currently
registered in Armenia are perceived as highly restricted by their donor commitments at best and
worthless and even harmful at worst.
Activists’ perceptions of NGOs range from positive to negative. Many activists with
positive perceptions have experience being involved with an NGO and highlight that they
developed into active citizens because of that experience. These activists highlight the
importance of NGOs for the success of activist campaigns, mentioning specific examples of
cooperation in addressing a common cause. Some activists have negative attitudes towards
NGOs, seeing them as unhelpful, or even harmful, to the general development of the country.
This group of activists advocates the role of activist campaigns as the only means of delivering
change. They believe that the role of NGOs has become secondary in the republic, if visible at
all. This group believes that more can be achieved via informal measures, rather than with the
help of formal entities.
Some activists note that it is difficult to determine the reasons that NGOs join civic
campaigns.
“Because organisations are funded, one never knows if they join the protest because they
believe in the cause, or because they are paid for it.” Female activist, 38
This undermines the legitimacy and the sincerity of NGO participation in the eyes of the
activists. There is also a visible lack of knowledge and understanding of what NGOs do,
particularly given that their work is not always visible and almost never advertised. As a result,
sweeping dismissals of NGO work are not uncommon among activists.
“To me, their [NGOs’] activities are characterised by printing a brochure. Nothing else.
But I believe they could have done more.” Female activist, 38
The quote above came from an activist who was involved in the Maternity Leave
campaign, which had probably most coordinated and substantial NGO support. Recall that NGOs
chose to remain in the background in this case.
NGO leaders and staff have overwhelmingly positive perceptions of civic activism, and
its current importance in the country, with exceptions that concern specific individuals and their
particular behaviour. They call civic activists “the progressive part of the public”; some claim
that civic initiatives are able to set the agenda for the country, on par with the government. Civic
initiatives are lauded for breaking stereotypes of public helplessness in the face of government
decisions.
Thus, in terms of attitudes, NGOs are consistently positive in their perceptions of
activists and supportive to the extent possible. Of course, we were speaking with a specific subset
of the NGO sector: those who choose to become involved. We believe that this approach is
justified because we wanted to understand the patterns of interaction, and thus it was reasonable
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