The Scientific Analytical Center of YSU Constitutional Economics has conducted a study aimed at developing a new concept of Armenian national security, and the guests of Aravot’s “Areresum (Confrontation)” program were two of its authors: Dean of the YSU Faculty of Economics and Management and Ph.D. of Economics, Professor Hayk Sargsyan, and Ph.D. of Economics, Professor Ruben Gevorgyan.
As part of the research, a survey was organized in May-June 2022 involving experts whose scientific interests are related to security issues. Most of the 60 experts who participated in the survey believe that in order to solve Armenia’s security problems, it is necessary to delegate some elements of sovereignty to supranational structures. “It is necessary to be able to see in this security chain, in what orientations are we looking for that security, in what collective unions are we looking for it,” said Hayk Sargsyan, responding to the question of whether this is not a concession of sovereignty. “It is an objective phenomenon and it is in terms of the whole world. In more than 200 recognized and unrecognized states, and territories, there are 47 associations or various associations… Sovereign? It almost doesn’t exist today. Some parts of economic management are delegated. And in this sense, among orientations or preferred directions of cooperation, we are looking to find the best one.”
Ruben Gevorgyan added, “The most powerful countries in the world, France, Germany, etc., have delegated a certain part of their sovereignty. They are in the European Union. For example, they do not have a currency, which is the most important element of sovereignty, and they have delegated some parts of foreign policy to EU structures. That is, it is a normal phenomenon in the world. Two questions arise here: how much and how to delegate? This can be a subject of scientific research, which we have referred to. This first research is precisely the question of how far it is possible to delegate by sector. How to delegate is another question. To be a member of a federation, a confederation, or some union that is amorphous or with bilateral agreements – the options are many.”
According to the experts who participated in the survey, Armenia can continue the policy of complementarity in the current situation, despite the intensified conflict between the West and Russia. According to Ruben Gevorgyan, “Today’s complementary policy has a number of very serious risks related to security. Eighty-five percent of the experts interviewed during the research believe that it is possible to continue the complementary policy. I don’t know how to explain it. We did not ask them for explanations. But in public debates, explanations are given quite often to try to get as much benefit as possible from that complementary policy. Personally, I think it is a naive policy. The chances of making a profit are much smaller than making a loss.”
Read also
Today there are calls to withdraw from the CSTO and the EAEU, but is there a visible alternative to them, that if we leave, we will find ourselves in a more favorable situation? “The majority of experts, in terms of both economic and military security, see the EAEU and the CSTO as structures that should be preserved after sovereignty,” said Mr. Gevorgyan.
And Hayk Sargsyan added, “Today, it is foolish to make a strong jump from one structure to another, it costs society in general dearly… What does change of orientation mean? You have to prepare for it, you have to have the prerequisites for it.” He cited several data regarding the withdrawal from the Eurasian structure. “Today, the Russians own, manage, use, manage almost 70 percent of our property, from the soil to the railways, etc. And 1/3 of our trade turnover goes to Russia. Let’s leave the CSTO aside, it is a military-political structure; But from an economic point of view, we cannot export our products to Europe today. They are simply not in demand. They require another certification… Concentrate is required, almost nothing else.”
Another conclusion of the research: “The escalation of conflicts leads to situations where the sovereignty of small countries remains only external attributes, without the possibility of having a real influence on their own destiny.” According to Ruben Gevorgyan, this is exactly the situation Armenia is in.
The entire conversation is in the video.
Anna Israelyan
