The next episode of the security-focused “Dilemma” podcast discusses post-colonial discourse in Armenia, the difference between Soviet and British or French colonialism, questions about whether current Russia can be identified with the Soviet Union in this regard, whether colonialism only brings negative consequences, and ultimately whether Armenia perceives itself as a former colony.
The guests are political scientist and lecturer Mikayel Zolyan and political scientist, independent researcher Edgar Vardanyan. The conversation is hosted by Areg Kochinyan, head of the “Research Center on Security Policy.”
Mikayel Zolyan
“We have a situation where essentially the state cannot perform a number of its functions because it is in a neo-colonial or post-colonial dependency, and this directly relates to security.”
Edgar Vardanyan
“Post-colonial discourse exists when people consider that they were previously a colony. If they don’t consider themselves as such, then they will naturally deny this discourse, won’t promote it, and so on.”
Areg Kochinyan
“In Armenia, there is no systematic school-level knowledge, so to speak no post-colonial school, and in this regard, we are significantly behind many societies, including almost all African societies. First and foremost, because even the perception in society that we were a colony and therefore need post-colonial discourse – doesn’t exist.”
