Civic Activism as a Novel Component of Armenian Civil Society

At times, the public regards activists as saviours. Some accounts indicate that the public
feels that it lacks charismatic people who can speak in a highly literate language while also being
accessible to all. Regarding the demand for leadership and the present detachment between the
public and authorities, a 37-year-old female activist highlights the following:
“They were saying things to me like ‘you are our saviour’, and I replied ‘do you not
understand that I am… just professional at my job, I am not here to do a revolution, I am
here to unite us around an issue of injustice, and now I see what impact it has.’ And I
understood the secret. They like me because I am one of them, similar to them. And I
understood that all we need is a connecting link to unite the public with policy makers. It
is nonsense that those who decide on the destiny of the public don’t have anything to do
with this very public. I am certain we will be able to deliver success here, to understand
why we have this disconnect, and establish the link.”
Some activists note that although positive public perceptions exist, they are not applied in
practice. In other words, it would be much better if people were to support the initiatives
regardless of subject matter. An example of such a lack of participation by the public is observed
in the Maternity Leave initiative among the husbands of the pregnant women who were
advocating for the issue. Another such example is a campaign against a policy for taxi drivers in
Gyumri, which was able only to mobilise drivers without any visible participation by other
groups. It is therefore important to examine the specifics of participation. The Electric Yerevan
initiative was a major mobilisation because the issue affected everyone. Being overly selective in
deciding to participate in campaigns is negatively affecting the culture of participation in
Armenia.
However, there are examples of the public’s positive perceptions having a practical
impact. For example, during the fortnight-long Electric Yerevan campaign, people brought food
to support the protesters. Flyers were distributed during the Dem Em initiative. While people’s
first reaction was “we are not interested”, regarding campaign flyers as just another advertising
activity, but after they noticed the Dem Em logo on the paper, most people reacted by taking the
flyer and saying that they would physically join the campaign.
In summary, activists tend to believe that civic initiatives represent the only institutions
trusted by the public. They believe that the public’s perceptions are positive because people have
come to understand the specifics of self-organisation. People began to self-organise thanks to
civic initiatives. This is a very good opportunity for them to practice self-organisation, which
leads to positive perceptions of and increased trust in initiatives.
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