Led by RSC Analyst Mikayel Zolyan in the capacity of Project Coordinator, the RSC is engaged in a new two-year research project entitled, “In Search of a Foundation Myth: State-building and Representations of the Events 1988-1991 in the Political Discourse of the Republic of Armenia.” This new research project is conducted for the Academic Swiss Caucasus Net (ASCN), in a programme aimed at “strengthening research in the social sciences and humanities in the South Caucasus and helping to bring it up to European standards.”

The Regional Studies Center (RSC) and the UK Embassy in Armenia convened a public event on 17 September to offer an assessment of the NATO Wales Summit, with a focus on the implications for Armenia and the South Caucasus. The event featured presentations by UK Ambassador Kathy Leach, Mr. Willian Lahue, the Head of the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia, NATO/PFP Liaison Officer in South Caucasus; Mr. Koryun Nahapetyan, Chairman of the Armenian Parliamentary Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs; RSC Senior Analyst David Shahnazaryan; and RSC Director Richard Giragosian.

Timed with the visit to Armenia of the Austrian Foreign Minister, RSC Director Richard Giragosian and Analyst Mikayel Zolyan offered analysis in an interview with the ORF (“Österreichischer Rundfunk”) Austrian national public service broadcaster. RSC staff covered broader trends in the region and offered their assessment of Armenia’s decision to seek membership in the Eurasian Union, but also noted the possibility of salvaging a relationship between Armenia and the European Union (EU).

http://oe1.orf.at/artikel/387012

In an extensive BBC analysis of the post-Crimean security landscape by Patrick Jackson on 9 September, RCS Director Richard Giragosian was cited and his analysis of the Karabakh security situation was published. In the BBC story, Giragosian noted that “situated to Russia's strategically vulnerable southern flank, the conflict over the Armenian enclave of Nagorno Karabakh has emerged as perhaps the next flashpoint.”

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In an extensive interview with the Armenian “1in.am” news agency, RSC Analyst Mikayel Zolyan offered an in-depth assessment of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and assessed the challenges facing the OSCE Minsk Group in seeking to mediate the conflict.

www.1in.am/1422576.html