Civic Activism as a Novel Component of Armenian Civil Society

overarching idea behind this thinking is that people need to struggle for a greater idea instead of
changing the price of a service. The public needs to strive for greater achievements because
minor successes help the authorities to distract the public from major issues. The success of one
initiative leads to the success of others because people become inspired and increase their
confidence.
The following factors make an initiative a success. The most important factor for the
success of any initiative is unity. Whether in planning a strategy, developing decisions, or
addressing minor issues, unity has to prevail in internal dynamics if the initiative seeks success.
Unity and cooperation among team members is essential. There must be high levels of
confidence and trust in each other such that any member is able to speak out on the street, at a
press-conference or in other public settings; other members should be certain that a common
opinion has been voiced, in accordance with mutual agreement. The unity argument was raised
as the best means of ensuring bonding among the most active participants in the second-largest
city of Armenia, Gyumri, which has registered a number of successful cases of public opinion
triumphing over governmental decision-making at the local level. The ability to unite around
important values based on societal benefit as opposed to personal gains is thus essential.
Another success factor concerns the leaders and organisers of initiatives. The fact that
people tend to know others in their communities facilitates mobilisation and therefore contributes
to the success of initiatives. There is transparency in this regard, meaning that everyone knows
the background and involvement of others. This helps in organising and advocating a concern.
People know who they can trust and who might turn their back on them.
Activists and the core leaders of some visible campaigns also frequently mentioned the
importance of a sense of responsibility. Activists having mobilised numbers of people, feel
responsible for those people; the former then feel that they cannot simply leave. The sense of
responsibility towards those who have joined a campaign is a driving force for success. Another
factor is the ability to avoid repeating past mistakes and to instead develop creative alternatives.
The ability to change and apply new strategies within campaign in the struggle against an
injustice leads to success.
A successful initiative is also characterised by the fact that many people start making
enquiries about the concern raised by the activists. For example, many initiatives were able to
include members of Diaspora, who may have been visiting Armenia for a short period of time.
They became involved in an initiative because the core group was able to reach out to them and
various groups within the local and international population. Therefore, being able to raise
awareness about concerns is a tool that promotes the success of a given initiative.
The last, but not least important, factor is the number of people involved. The physical
turnout is a clear indication of the ability to change government behaviour. The more people are
mobilised, the more cautiously the authorities will act. This means that the number of people that
an initiative is able to mobilise will be a determining factor of whether it will become a success
or a failure.
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