The time has come for sects and “fan clubs”
The Armenian word for “spell” (заклинание) is rarely used. But it clearly refers to a kind of magical formula meant to “bewitch” reality. These “spells” — or slogans — are repeated dozens of times a day by members of this or that sect, until they are lodged in people’s minds and accepted as reality. For example: “Communism is the future of all mankind” or “There will be no war — there will be peace.”
Naturally, members of the opposing sect have their own “spells” — opposite in wording, but just as far removed from reality. If you don’t like the term “sect,” I can offer a softer one: “fan club.” For example, the “fan clubs” of Pashinyan and Kocharyan.
Of course, the struggle to control narratives has been with humanity for millennia. The peculiarity of the present moment is that “fan clubs” have multiplied, often taking the form — figuratively speaking — of Facebook groups.
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One consequence is that political thought, analysis, and debate have almost vanished, replaced by social media trolling, when any word can be thrown to the side. For instance, if someone argues that the main beneficiaries of the Washington Declaration are Azerbaijan and Turkey, the counter-argument comes instantly: “That’s the Kremlin’s point of view.” No more analysis, no weighing of facts — only a fight against the “enemy,” preferably on a social media platform.
Who can resist these “spells” — that is, remain outside these “fan clubs”? Theoretically, it could be civil society: horizontally connected groups serving clear goals, principles, and ideas not tied to gaining or keeping power. Imagine, for example, a human rights defender who once opposed Nikol Pashinyan’s imprisonment, and now speaks out against Samvel Karapetyan’s. Hard to picture such a person, isn’t it?
Instead, we encounter NGOs linked to “fan clubs” at every turn. They use jargon learned at specialized workshops, speaking in that peculiar NGO “bird language” about “Western values and standards” — apparently convinced that arresting people on the basis of the Prime Minister’s Facebook posts is fully consistent with those values and standards.
And so, everyone who voices concern about the “Zangezur Corridor” is labeled an “armyashka” or an FSB agent. This is nothing but ordinary Bolshevism — or a sect, or perhaps membership in Pashinyan “fan club.”
What should genuine analysts, political scientists, journalists, and others committed to this mission do? In my view, it’s impossible to simply ignore these “fan clubs,” and equally pointless to try to convert their members. But it is necessary to look for patterns — to trace causes and consequences in all of this.
“Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t,” says Polonius of Hamlet.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
