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American University of Armenia the Impact Of AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ARMENIA THE IMPACT OF DIASPORA AND DUAL CITIZENSHIP POLICY ON THE STATECRAFT PROCESS IN THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA A MASTER’S ESSAY SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS FOR PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS BY ARLETTE AVAKIAN YEREVAN, ARMENIA May 2008 SIGNATURE PAGE ___________________________________________________________________________ Faculty Advisor Date ___________________________________________________________________________ Dean Date AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ARMENIA May 2008 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The work on my Master’s Essay was empowered and facilitated by the effort of several people. I would like to express my deep gratitude to my faculty adviser Mr. Vigen Sargsyan for his professional approach in advising and revising this Master’s Essay during the whole process of its development. Mr. Sargsyan’s high professional and human qualities were accompanying me along this way and helping me to finish the work I had undertaken. My special respect and appreciation to Dr. Lucig Danielian, Dean of School of Political Science and International Affairs, who had enormous impact on my professional development as a graduate student of AUA. I would like to thank all those organizations, political parties and individuals whom I benefited considerably. They greatly provided me with the information imperative for the realization of the goals of the study. Among them are the ROA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Armenian Assembly of America Armenia Headquarter, Head Office of the Hay Dat (Armenian Cause) especially fruitful interview with the International Secretariat of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau in Yerevan, Tufenkian Foundation, Mr. Ralph Yirikyan, the General Manager of Viva Cell Company, Mr. Shahan Kandaharian, the Editor- in-Chief of Azdak daily (Beirut-based newspaper) and also the whole AUA library staff. I greatly appreciate the detailed and helpful comments and ideas made by Dr. Khatchig DerGoukassian, Dr. Asbed Kouchikian, Dr. Armen Ayvazyan, Dr. Aram Hajian and Dr. Tom Samuelian. I owe a special thanks to Dr. Anna Ohanian for her great long distance interview which I have presented in my paper and Mr. Mansour Moharrmi for his valuable suggestions. Last but not least, I would like to express my most profound love, appreciation, and thanks to my beloved husband and my three sons for their continuing understanding and encouragement while I was studying and writing my Master’s Essay. I hope that this Master’s Essay will contribute to better understanding of the special connections of Armenian Diaspora with its homeland while striving to feel at home abroad. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List Of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. 5 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 8 Defining Diaspora ............................................................................................................................................... 11 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 14 The Review Of Literature ..................................................................................................... 16 Economic Contribution ......................................................................................................... 22 Economic Contribution And Dual Citizenship ................................................................... 31 “The Fact That Armenia Marked An International Presence Much Before Georgia And Azerbaijan Is Because Of Diaspora”.................................................................................... 33 Socio-Political Contribution Of Armenian Diaspora To Homeland ................................. 33 How Will Dual Citizenship Influence On The Socio-Political Impact? ............................ 39 Cultural Contribution Of Armenian Diaspora To Homeland ........................................... 43 How Will Dual Citizenship Influence On The Cultural Impact ........................................ 52 Rationale Behind A Dual Citizenship Arrangement For Ra ............................................. 55 Conclusions And Recommendations .................................................................................... 62 Appendices .............................................................................................................................. 64 References ............................................................................................................................... 67 4 List of Abbreviations AAA - Armenian Assembly of America ADL - Armenian Democratic-Liberal Party AGBU - Armenian General Benevolent Union AIPRG - Armenian International Policy Research Group ANCA - Armenian National Committee of America ANCA-WR - Armenian National Committee of America Western Region ARF - The Armenian Revolutionary Federation AUA - American University of Armenia AYF - Armenian Youth Federation BIRD - Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation EU - European Union FDI - Foreign Direct Investment GNP -Gross National Product ICT -Information Communication Technology MFA - Ministry of Foreign Affairs NGO - Non Governmental Organization ROA - Republic of Armenia US - United States USA - United States of America 5 Abstract My interest predates the economic, political and cultural importance of Armenian Diaspora and the influence of such Diaspora on the statecraft process of the Republic of Armenia after independence. Since Diaspora communities are linked to their homeland and continue to be engaged with their fates and futures, they persist for long stretches of time. In addition, it is obvious nowadays that no one can ignore those entities and their various roles. Initially my attention was drawn to this phenomenon after the national referendum on constitutional amendments of November 25, 2005 and further amendments on February 6, 2007 on the law of citizenship that abandoned the limitation on the Dual Citizenship. My acquaintance with the relationship between Armenia and its Diaspora became more intimate when I, as a Diaspora member residing in Armenia, participated to the third Armenia-Diaspora Conference on September 18-20, 2006. This conference mainly focused on how the Diaspora-homeland relations have evolved; the application of culture and identity to Armenian Diaspora and to Armenia; what direction can be given to future cultural and socio-economic relations between homeland and Diaspora; political opportunities for Diaspora as non-state actors and experiences of emigration and repatriation. I was also inspired with the Armenian International Policy Research Group International Conference entitled “Dual Citizenship: Alternative Arrangements, Economic Implications and Social Dimensions” held on June 17-18 in Yerevan, Armenia. This conference gathered the issues relevant for Dual Citizenship, including its impact on Armenia and Diaspora. This paper examines the role and the contributions of Armenian Diaspora on the economic, political and socio-cultural life of Armenia. It examines the impact of Diaspora 6 and Dual Citizenship policy on the statecraft process in the Republic of Armenia after independence. The paper offers a new approach to debate on dual citizenship within the context of Armenian’s unique status as a relatively small state with a large and influential Diaspora. It examines how adaptation of Dual Citizenship will enhance the impact of the contribution. 7 Introduction The Armenian Diaspora is a product of Armenian history. Gevorkyan (2006) from Department of Economics, New School for Social Research; mentions that a large portion of ethnic Armenians, naturalized or born citizens of other countries, lives abroad and has strong sentimental values as well as established organizational foundations like religious and political party that support their ties with Armenia (Gevorkyan 2006). Governments in various states offer dual citizenship with the aim of clarifying economic, political and cultural connections with their Diaspora communities. Armenia as a relatively new state faces an issue. Armenia is a former Soviet republic, isolated by the Caucasus Mountains, Turkey and Azerbaijan with limited natural resources and human capital potential. On early 1990’s the Armenian Genocide scattered survivors all over the world. On the other hand, Armenia since the independence in 1991, dealt with devastating impacts of the 1988 earthquake, and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict suffered a high amount of immigrants in the last sixteen years. According to the chart of Diaspora Populations per Republic of Armenia calculated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are more Armenians in the Diaspora than in Armenia - approximately three million in Armenia, and more than six million all over the world, as many as twice the amount of ethnic Armenians live outside the borders of Armenian state. The Armenian Diaspora is a large and influential force. It is wealthy and patriotic, willing and powerful resource for economic assistance. Moreover, it is the best source for political and cultural enrichment issues. Therefore, we have to consider the vital issue of Dual Citizenship. The potential benefit lies in the fact that dual citizens would provide immeasurable value to the labor market through
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