{"id":1539,"date":"2026-01-22T15:44:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T11:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/?page_id=1539"},"modified":"2026-03-27T17:20:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T13:20:43","slug":"armenia-democracy-watch","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/?page_id=1539","title":{"rendered":"Armenia \u2014 \nDemocracy Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3a88641f wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Democracy Watch<\/em><\/strong><em>&nbsp;is a joint initiative by&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.civilnet.am\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>CivilNet<\/em><\/a><em>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/rcds.am\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Regional Center for Democracy and Security<\/em><\/a><em>, a Yerevan-based think tank.<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"437\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Armenia-\u2014-Democracy-Watch-cover-2026-1-437x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Armenia-\u2014-Democracy-Watch-cover-2026-1-437x600.jpg 437w, https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Armenia-\u2014-Democracy-Watch-cover-2026-1-218x300.jpg 218w, https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Armenia-\u2014-Democracy-Watch-cover-2026-1.jpg 593w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 437px) 100vw, 437px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Democracy Watch<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp;<em>recaps, highlights, and examines the pivotal challenges facing Armenia\u2019s democratic institutions. It focuses on analyzing and addressing challenges to democratic progress in Armenia. The initiative highlights issues such as the normalization of anti-democratic practices by civil society and the political polarization that threatens democratic values. It emphasizes the importance of independent media and civil society organizations in safeguarding democratic principles and ensuring public awareness amidst ongoing political tensions<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This material has been funded by the UK International Development from the UK government; however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government\u2019s official policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This document was compiled by:<\/em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/?page_id=2\">\u201cArmenian Cause\u201d Foundation<\/a>&nbsp;(<a href=\"mailto:office@armeniancause.org\">office@armeniancause.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-afbe622563e3e403abf5b2fabdcdd9a3 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#c43408\"><strong>Updated<\/strong>:<strong>\u00a027 March 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-0aa01211 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260327-Armenia-\u2014-Democracy-Watch-Compilation.pdf\"><strong>Download PDF File<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3a88641f wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>For more info, see:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/freekarapetyan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Armenia-EN-Apostolic-A4-v1a.pdf\"><em>Armenia\u2019s Authoritarian Turn: Nikol Pashinyan and the Persecution of Samvel Karapetyan and the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church<\/em><\/a>, authored by Robert Amsterdam, founder and managing partner of Amsterdam &amp; Partners LLP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>For a legal analysis, see:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20251203-When-the-State-Hunts-a-Church.pdf\"><em>When the State Hunts a Church: Armenia\u2019s Steady Break with the Rule of Law<\/em><\/a><em>,<\/em> <em>by Dr. Kevork Hagopjian, Esq.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>See also: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251026-ARF-ShutDown-FactSheet-fv.pdf\"><em>Pashinyan\u2019s Assault on the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF-Dashnaktsutyun)<\/em><\/a>, 26 October 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>FACT SHEET<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251105-Pashinyan-Targets-the-Armenian-Church-fact-sheet-fv.pdf\">Pashinyan Targets the Armenian Church<\/a>, Updated: 22 December 2025<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democracy Watch&nbsp;is a joint initiative by&nbsp;CivilNet&nbsp;and the&nbsp;Regional Center for Democracy and Security, a Yerevan-based think tank. Democracy Watch&nbsp;recaps, highlights, and examines the pivotal challenges facing Armenia\u2019s democratic institutions. It focuses on analyzing and addressing challenges to democratic progress in Armenia. The initiative highlights issues such as the normalization of anti-democratic practices by civil society and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1554,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-with-sidebar","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1539","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1539"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1588,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1539\/revisions\/1588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/armeniancause.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}