This episode of the security-focused “Dilemma” podcast discusses the importance of civil society’s role, perceptions of civil society both as an organization and as a field, its functions in the security sector and human rights protection context. They also discuss state cooperation with civil society, its participation, and the challenges in these relationships.
The guests are political scientist and American University lecturer Yevgenya Paturyan and human rights defender Arthur Sakunts, head of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office. The conversation is hosted by Areg Kochinyan, head of the “Research Center on Security Policy.”
Evgenya Paturyan
“There’s been a sharp increase in the number of ‘essays’ saying that Armenia needs a strong leader like Stalin. This is truly a problem for civil society.”
Arthur Sakunts
“Civil society and human rights defenders are themselves stakeholders in an effective, accountable, transparent state operating on the rule of law, since the whole point is the state’s effectiveness and security.”
Areg Kochinyan
“We must be able to build our own model of how the state will relate to newly formed actors…
…Armenia is in a very unique situation. In my assessment, classical political opposition is almost absent in Armenia, which simply distorts the political system in general.”
