Armenian Civil Society after Twenty Years of Transition: Still Post-Communist? Yevgenya Jenny Paturyan Valentina Gevorgyan Yerevan 2014 Armenian Civil Society after Twenty Years of Transition: Still Post-Communist? Authors: Yevgenya Jenny Paturyan Valentina Gevorgyan Contributing team: Tatevik Badalyan Bella Baghdasaryan Anna Drnoyan Arman Gasparyan Angela Hassassian Nelly Minasyan Book cover: designed by authors using www.tagxedo.com Turpanjian Center for Policy Analysis American University of Armenia 2014 The present study was conducted with the support of the Academic Swiss Caucasus Net (ASCN). ASCN is a programme aimed at promoting the social sciences and humanities in the South Caucasus (primarily Georgia and Armenia). Its different activities foster the emergence of a new generation of talented scholars. Promising junior researchers receive support through research projects, capacity-building training and scholarships. The programme emphasizes the advancement of individuals who, thanks to their ASCN experience, become better integrated in international academic networks. The ASCN programme is coordinated and operated by the Interfaculty Institute for Central and Eastern Europe (IICEE) at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). It was initiated and is supported by Gebert Rüf Stiftung. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent opinions of Gebert Rüf Stiftung and the University of Fribourg. Acknowledgements The production of this manuscript was supported by the Academic Swiss Caucasus Net (ASCN) research grant. We are very grateful to ASCN for providing us with an opportunity to conduct this study and for the exceptionally conducive working relations and additional support activities, such as methodology workshops, conferences, professional advice and so on. During the two years of implementation, the study has benefited greatly from the suggestions and feedback provided by Dr. Simone Baglioni, who served as an academic mentor to this project. We are thankful for his inquisitiveness, continued support, professional advice and encouragement, which have guided us through the study. Our special thanks go to the American University of Armenia and particularly to the Political Science and International Affairs (PSIA) graduate program, which has created a treasured environment for academic work. We are grateful to Dr. Douglas H. Shumavon. Many aspects of this research have been designed under his leadership in his capacity as the PSIA chair and Turpanjian Center for Policy Analysis director. We are also thankful to our colleagues, the PSIA faculty members for being ready to provide feedback on aspects of research whenever needed. The production of this book would not have been possible without an enormous support from the contributing team members, named above, who have been especially involved in the initial stages of the project, from numerous brainstorming sessions to data collection and analysis. We are also very grateful to people who have been involved in the implementation of this study from its inception to the very end, including PSIA work and study students, volunteers, visiting researchers and lecturers. Their contributions have been invaluable in the development of this study. While they are too many to name individually, we would particularly like to mention Armine Bagiyan, Amalya Fljyan and Mariella Falkenhain. We would like to acknowledge the contributions of the study participants, willing to share their time and insights, particularly those NGOs from the regions, who hosted our team, as their cooperative attitude made the study possible and valuable to the reader. Thanks to all the Armenian NGOs who were cooperative in providing a response to our questionnaire. Responsibility for all mistakes and omissions in the book remains authors’ alone. We are grateful to www.tagxedo.com for the free word cloud software used in the design of the cover page. Last but not least, our gratitude goes to our families and a few close friends, whose encouragement and interest in our work makes it an even more enjoyable journey of discovery. November, 2014 2 Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................... 5 List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................. 6 List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................ 8 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter I: Theoretical Framework .............................................................................................................. 11 1.1. Defining Civil Society ............................................................................................................................ 12 1.2. Relevance of Civil Society ..................................................................................................................... 13 1.3. Communism and Post-Communism .................................................................................................... 15 1.4. Narrowing Down the Concept of Civil Society ..................................................................................... 17 1.4.1. Focus on NGOs as Typical Representatives of Civil Society Organisations ............................... 18 1.4.2. Focus on Individual Attitudes and Behaviours: Trust, Membership and Volunteering ............ 20 1.5. Generational Change and Young People ............................................................................................. 23 Chapter II: Armenian Civil Society ............................................................................................................... 25 2.1. Soviet Armenian Civil Society ............................................................................................................... 25 2.2. Post-Soviet Development: Rise of NGOs ............................................................................................. 26 2.3. Current Overall Assessment of Armenian Civil Society ....................................................................... 27 2.4. Specific Challenges of Civil Society ...................................................................................................... 29 2.4.1 Communist Legacy: Mistrust and Disengagement .................................................................... 29 2.4.2. Institutional Constraints: International Donors’ Impact on Civil Society .................................. 30 2.5. Number of NGOs Existing in Armenia: An Open Question .................................................................. 31 Chapter III: Methodology of the Study ....................................................................................................... 35 3.1. Three Levels of Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 35 3.2. Methods Used in the Analysis of Armenian Civil Society .................................................................... 35 3.2.1. Secondary Data Analysis ........................................................................................................... 36 3.2.2. The Organisational Survey ........................................................................................................ 38 3.2.3. Semi-structured Interviews with NGO Leaders and Volunteers ............................................... 42 Chapter IV: Secondary Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 44 4.1. Membership in SCOs: Post-communist “Weakness” Then and Now .................................................. 44 4.1.1. World Values Survey, 1995-1998 .............................................................................................. 44 4.1.2. World Values Survey 2010-2014: Current State of Associational Membership ....................... 47 4.1.3. Comparing the Third and Sixth World Values Survey Waves ................................................... 50 3 4.2. Trust towards NGOs and Volunteering in Armenia and the South Caucasus ...................................... 51 4.2.1. Trust towards NGOs .................................................................................................................. 53 4.2.2. Volunteering ............................................................................................................................. 57 4.3. Narrowing the Focus to Armenia ......................................................................................................... 58 4.3.1. Membership in Associations ..................................................................................................... 58 4.3.2. Trust towards Civil Society and NGOs ....................................................................................... 61 4.3.3. Volunteering ............................................................................................................................. 65 4.3.4. The Generational Change in Armenia. ...................................................................................... 68 Chapter