Civic Activism as a Novel Component of Armenian Civil Society

According to some activists, NGOs are proactive, leader-centred, and in disarray. Some
believe that there is much greater potential to use volunteering to make change in Armenian
society than with NGOs, whereas NGOs should serve as a bridge between the public and
government. Only then can NGOs be useful.
Positive perceptions, although minor, are nevertheless visible thanks to the few
organisations that attempt to operate to have a greater impact, notwithstanding barriers to better
inclusion. Because the activists consider Armenian political parties as institutions to be
thoroughly discredited, they believe that the non-governmental sector should be approached
because it has the potential to advance public interests.
Activists who have positive attitudes about NGOs are characterised by having had prior
or current experience of involvement with an organisation, experience that allowed them to
develop into active citizens. NGOs are important for the success of activist campaigns, and the
respondents mentioned specific examples of cooperation in addressing a common cause, for
example the case of Teghut civic initiative.
The activists maintain that it is important for ‘real’ NGOs to support civic initiatives.
Their inclusion will only result in positive perceptions. NGOs are beneficial for initiatives, as
they can offer support by providing access to experts and seeking funding.
9.2. Activists on Public Perceptions of Civic Initiatives
The activists believe that Armenians generally support civic initiatives because the public has
positive perceptions of the initiatives. These positive perceptions of informal methods of
resistance are developed due to the Armenian public’s continual disappointments in recent years
in terms of mobilisation and winning campaigns. The disappointments relate to a number of
processes that exclude the potential for developing an alternative powerful political actor/s in the
Armenian political arena. One such example is the sadly famous events of 2008, which
witnessed the defeat of Armenia’s first President, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, in his attempt to return
to politics. Further examples include the defeat of another presidential candidate, Raffi
Hovhannisyan, in the 2013 elections due to the incapacity of the system to deliver fair elections,
and the political pressure on Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the second-majority party in the
Parliament, resulting in the Tsarukyan’s complete withdrawal from politics. All such events are
characterised by a common factor, namely, a series of incremental advances ending in an
overwhelming defeat for the newly rising power.
This is the primary reason that activists tend to characterise civic initiatives as the last
means by which the people will ever win. The majority of participants in activist campaigns are
youth, which is another reason for the persistently positive perceptions of the initiatives, as the
youth are usually taking the lead and are able to actively participate. The young generation
recognises the failure of the older population to challenge the authorities and deliver change. The
youth also seem to recognise the incapacity of formal entities to deliver societal impact, which is
another reason for the sustainable youth involvement in civic initiatives.
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