YSU Journal of International Affairs
type: channel
description: The YSU Journal of International Affairs (YSUJIA) is a peer-reviewed academic journal fostering debate and dialogue on international affairs across humanities and social sciences, including international relations, international history, international law, international political economy, diplomacy, and foreign policies. It aims to link scholars and policymakers while encouraging innovative, interdisciplinary contributions that broaden the scope of current scholarship.
publisher: Yerevan State University Press
language: en
publication name: YSU Journal of International Affairs
issn: 3045-3119
items: Beyond Order and Disorder: Statecraft, Great-Power Rivalry, Hyper-Transactionalism and Intermediary States
items: From Military Modernization to Army Transformation: Human Resource, Force Structure, and Command Reform in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia
items: Kautilya. The Arthashastra. Edited, Rearranged, Translated, and Introduced by L. N. Rangarajan. Penguin Random House India, 1992. 819 PP. ISBN 978-0-140-44603-6.
items: The "New Yalta" Framework: Great-Power Bargaining in the Russia–Ukraine War and the Transactional Geopolitics
items: Beyond the Target: Geopolitical Implications of the US Sanctions Against Russia on Armenia
items: The Symbolic Warfare of 9/11: The Construction of the Enemy Image and the Institutional Crisis of the Unipolar World Order
items: Southern Africa in a Multipolar World: External Power Competition and Regional Agency
items: Manufacturing the Enemy: Armenophobia and the Construction of National Identity in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan
items: Diverging Patterns of Eurasian Geopolitics: Sovereignty, Identity, and Connectivity in a Fragmented Order
items: Rethinking Ukraine's Geopolitics: The Failure of Intermediation and the Origins of War
items: A Tale of Two States: Explaining the Divergent Outcomes of the EU Soft-Transformative Power in Albania and Georgia
items: Between Geopolitical Tensions and Social Fragility: Explaining Youth Radicalization in Central Asia
items: From Balancing to Active Hedging: The Transformation of Kazakhstan’s Multi-Vector Foreign Policy After 2022
items: Geoeconomics, Connectivity, and Strategic Partnership: Iran and Armenia in Eurasia’s New Order
items: Bitcoin as a Potential Hegemonic Watershed: Strategic Foresight on Decentralized Money and the Future of Polarity
items: Reconstruction and Modernization of National Identity as Catalysts for Stateness: A Post-Soviet Perspective
items: https://journals.ysu.am/bulletin-ysu-int-rel-pol/article/view/13465
items: The Strategic Role of Central Asia in a Changing World Order: Resources, Logistics, and Competition
items: How Islam Rules in Iran: Theology and Theocracy in the Islamic Republic, by Mehran Kamrava, Cambridge University Press, 2024, 354 pp.
items: The Renewed Impetus to the European Union Enlargement: An Opportunity for Closer Ties between the EU and Armenia
items: Building Bridges: Kuwait’s Subtle Diplomacy and Humanitarian Soft Power in a Fractured Region
items: Polarization, Transactionalism and Small States in the International System: Navigating a Fractured Order
items: From Yalta to the Unknown: State Foreign Policy Features in the Transitional Period of the International Relations System
items: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on International Relations: Are Current Paradigms Still Relevant?
items: International North–South Transport Corridor: A Renewed Horizon of Trade Connectivity Between India and Russia
items: Digital Inclusion VS Digital Sovereignty: RRI as a Platform for Integrating Ethics into Geopolitics
items: Gevorg Ghukasyan, The Armenian Lobby of Europe: TheEssence and Context of Ethnic Lobbying
items: Formation and Transformation of National Role Concepts in Contemporary International Relations
items: Some General Manifestations of Transition Periods of International Relations System
items: Armenian Experience in the Usage of Stratagems (General Overview)

Beyond Order and Disorder: Statecraft, Great-Power Rivalry, Hyper-Transactionalism and Intermediary States
type: item
subject: Editorial Foreword
  topic: section
creator: Tigran Yepremyan
creator: Suren Tadevosyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Tigran Yepremyan, Suren Tadevosyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2026-07-13
publication date: 2026-07-13
starting page: 7
ending page: 11
doi: 10.46991/jia.2026.2.1.007

From Military Modernization to Army Transformation: Human Resource, Force Structure, and Command Reform in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia
type: item
description: Contemporary military transformation extends beyond technological modernization, requiring comprehensive institutional reforms that integrate effective military management, adaptive command structures, and human resource development to enhance operational effectiveness. The transformation of the Armed Forces has become a top priority for Armenia, especially after changes in the security architecture following the 2020 44- day war. The Concept for the Transformation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia (2024–2035) outlines the main goals for military reforms that aim to strengthen the national defense capability. This article explores the concept, focusing on the sphere of military management and human resource development. It examines the modernization of command-and-control systems, the adoption of mission command principles, the establishment of a professional non-commissioned officer (NCO) corps, enhancements in morale and psychological readiness, and the improvement of the reserve and conscription system. The successful institutionalization of reforms will embed adaptive leadership and decentralized command into the organizational culture of the Armenian military. The article argues that the Transformation Concept marks a broader strategic shift from force modernization to institutional transformation, demonstrating that effective military management, mission command, and human resource development constitute the essential foundations of long-term operational effectiveness and resilience.
subject: Discussion Article
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creator: Suren Papikyan
creator: Harutyun Matevosyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Suren Papikyan, Harutyun Matevosyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2026-07-13
publication date: 2026-07-13
starting page: 12
ending page: 21
doi: 10.46991/jia.2026.2.1.012

Kautilya. The Arthashastra. Edited, Rearranged, Translated, and Introduced by L. N. Rangarajan. Penguin Random House India, 1992. 819 PP. ISBN 978-0-140-44603-6.
type: item
subject: Book Review
  topic: section
creator: Zhak Manukyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Zhak Manukyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2026-07-13
publication date: 2026-07-13
starting page: 175
ending page: 179
doi: 10.46991/jia.2026.2.1.175

The "New Yalta" Framework: Great-Power Bargaining in the Russia–Ukraine War and the Transactional Geopolitics
type: item
description: This article critically examines the structural transformation of the transatlantic security architecture and the severe erosion of the post-Cold War international order during the latter stages of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Following years of unified Western military deterrence and strict adherence to the principles of territorial sovereignty, the 2025 inauguration of the Trump administration catalyzed a profound geopolitical rupture. By analyzing back-channel diplomacy, the Anchorage summit, and the restrictive 28-point American peace proposal, this study traces Washington’s rapid pivot toward transactional, bilateral negotiations with Moscow. The analysis reveals how this superpower-centric mediation systematically marginalized European allies and applied coercive diplomatic pressure on Kyiv to accept maximalist Russian territorial demands. The paper argues that the United States has actively retreated from the universalist doctrine of international law, adopting a nineteenth-century spheres-of-influence model. Ultimately, this emerging “New Yalta” framework implicitly validates military conquest as a legitimate tool of statecraft, institutionalizing a highly volatile, frozen conflict while simultaneously forcing a rapid, continent-wide militarization of Europe in direct response to an increasingly unreliable American security umbrella.
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creator: Garik Keryan
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Garik Keryan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2026-07-13
publication date: 2026-07-13
starting page: 68
ending page: 91
doi: 10.46991/jia.2026.2.1.068

Beyond the Target: Geopolitical Implications of the US Sanctions Against Russia on Armenia
type: item
description: This paper examines the unintended systemic consequences of US sanctions against Russia on the Republic of Armenia between 2022 and 2026. Anchored in Sanctions Theory, the study identifies a ‘Sanctions Paradox’: while restrictive measures initially generated short-term economic gains through diverted trade and human capital influxes, they simultaneously accelerated Armenia’s strategic vulnerabilities by eroding Russia’s security guarantees. Specifically, the temporary windfall from re-exports and tech relocations created an unsustainable economic dependency that directly conflicted with Yerevan’s urgent need for political diversification. Utilizing a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods approach, the research analyzes how this paradox catalyzed a definitive realignment with the West. Central to this shift are the 2025 EU Integration Act and the 2026 TRIPP Framework Agreement, which serve as instruments of ‘Contractual Sovereignty’ and ‘Commercial Deterrence’. By navigating this dual-track reality, the findings offer a novel framework for understanding how intermediary economies leverage institutional pivots to survive great-power economic warfare. Armenia’s trajectory suggests that small-state agency in a sanctioned environment is increasingly defined by security. The article contributes to sanctions theory by demonstrating that consequential effects of sanctions may occur not only within the target state itself, but within intermediary states whose economic and security dependencies are transformed in opposite directions.
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creator: Gor Petrosyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Gor Petrosyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2026-07-13
publication date: 2026-07-13
starting page: 22
ending page: 47
doi: 10.46991/jia.2026.2.1.022

The Symbolic Warfare of 9/11: The Construction of the Enemy Image and the Institutional Crisis of the Unipolar World Order
type: item
description: This article examines the 9/11 attacks not merely as a military event or act of transnational terrorism, but as a transformative symbolic performance that fundamentally reconfigured the architecture of global political meaning and redefined global political identity. Utilizing a cultural-anthropological framework, the study analyzes the transition from a single day of violence to a twenty-year Global War on Terror. The research focuses on the mechanisms by which the enemy image is constructed and the institutionalization of a permanent state of exception within the liberal world order. It argues that these processes operated not only through formal policy instruments but also through diffuse cultural and media practices that normalized exceptional governance across societies. By examining the intervention in Afghanistan, the authors demonstrate how security-driven discourses reproduced new forms of ethnocentrism, mass surveillance, and Islamophobia. The study concludes that 9/11 catalyzed a profound internal crisis of liberal governance and the emergence of novel modalities of global control.
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creator: Artak Khachatrian
creator: Araik Mkrtumyan
creator: Abgar Barseghyan
creator: Mkhitar Gabrielyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Artak S. Khachatryan, Araik E. Mkrtumyan, Abgar N. Barseghyan, Dr. Mkhitar R. Gabrielyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2026-07-13
publication date: 2026-07-13
starting page: 116
ending page: 134
doi: 10.46991/jia.2026.2.1.116

Southern Africa in a Multipolar World: External Power Competition and Regional Agency
type: item
description: Southern Africa has become an increasingly important arena in global politics as the world shifts toward a multipolar order. Multipolarity expands Southern Africa’s diplomatic options but not its structural economic agency, producing a form of conditional agency constrained by enduring global economic hierarchies. Considerable scholarly attention has been devoted to understanding how countries in this region navigate the growing influence of external powers—China, the United States, the European Union (EU), Russia, and BRICS. This article examines how Southern African states balance external pressures with their own regional and national priorities, drawing on qualitative case studies from selected SADC member states. The analysis shows that while engagement with multiple global actors offers Southern African states opportunities to expand their diplomatic and economic options, structural constraints such as dependence on foreign aid, weak regional coordination, and uneven power relations often limit their ability to act independently. This article argues that Southern Africa’s ability to exercise meaningful agency in a multipolar world relies on stronger regional institutions and better coordination among member states. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of African agency and regionalism, highlighting both the challenges and possibilities for Southern African states in shaping their own regional environment.
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creator: Vimbiso Juliet Mapfidza
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Vimbiso Juliet Mapfidza https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2026-07-13
publication date: 2026-07-13
starting page: 135
ending page: 174
doi: 10.46991/jia.2026.2.1.135

Manufacturing the Enemy: Armenophobia and the Construction of National Identity in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan
type: item
description: This article examines the role of Armenophobia in the construction of national identity in Azerbaijan. It argues that the Azerbaijani national identity has been shaped not through affirmative civic or ethnic principles, but rather through a sustained campaign of “negative nationalism” — a nation-building project defined predominantly by hostility toward the Armenians. Drawing on political discourse analysis, state policy review, and examples from elite rhetoric, the study illustrates how Armenophobia functions as a tool of authoritarian consolidation, ideological substitution, and historical revisionism. The Azerbaijani regime has cultivated an image of Armenians as existential enemies to justify both domestic repression and external aggression, presenting itself as the sole protector of the Azerbaijani nation. The article situates this phenomenon within broader theoretical discussions of ontological insecurity, post-imperial identity crises, and authoritarian statecraft in the post-Soviet space. By framing Armenophobia as a strategic instrument for regime legitimacy and societal mobilization, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the politics of memory, nationalism by negation, and conflict-driven identity formation in transitional political systems.
subject: Articles
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creator: Anzhela Mnatsakanyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Anzhela Mnatsakanyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-10
publication date: 2025-12-10
starting page: 70
ending page: 92
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.2.070

Diverging Patterns of Eurasian Geopolitics: Sovereignty, Identity, and Connectivity in a Fragmented Order
type: item
subject: Editorial Foreword
  topic: section
creator: Tigran Yepremyan
creator: Suren Tadevosyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Tigran Yepremyan, Suren Tadevosyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-10
publication date: 2025-12-10
starting page: 7
ending page: 11
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.2.007

Rethinking Ukraine's Geopolitics: The Failure of Intermediation and the Origins of War
type: item
description: The Russia–Ukraine war stands as one of the most consequential geopolitical conflicts of the 21st century, raising fundamental questions about the relationship between geography, power, and conflict in the post–Cold War international order. Tensions between Russia and Western powers have intensified during the conflict, and more than three years after the outbreak of the war, its outcome remains uncertain. The paper analyzes Ukraine’s geopolitical position as a key factor shaping the origins and dynamics of the ongoing war. Particular attention is given to Ukraine’s evolving relations with Russia and with Western actors, primarily the United States and the European Union. Ukraine has long occupied a central place not only in Russia’s geopolitical and geostrategic designs, but also in Russian history and identity. Yet after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine began to develop closer political and economic ties with Western institutions, following a trajectory similar to that of several former Eastern Bloc states. This article argues that Ukraine’s geopolitical position is best understood not as a buffer, but as a failed intermediary space, in which competing integration projects (Euro-Atlantic and Russian) have eroded the conditions necessary for neutrality, transforming structural in-betweenness into a catalyst for war.
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creator: Gréta Hőhn
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Gréta Hőhn https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2026-07-13
publication date: 2026-07-13
starting page: 48
ending page: 67
doi: 10.46991/jia.2026.2.1.048

A Tale of Two States: Explaining the Divergent Outcomes of the EU Soft-Transformative Power in Albania and Georgia
type: item
description: Although the EU has recently shifted toward a more “geopolitical” approach, it has long relied on its normative and transformative soft power to drive political and economic reforms in aspiring member states. However, the success of this approach has varied considerably, particularly between the Western Balkan candidates and the states recently granted candidate status—Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova. This article compares the EU’s success in exercising soft power in Albania with its struggles in Georgia. The Albanian government has embraced both democratic and acquis-related conditionalities and has agreed with the European Commission on a roadmap to conclude negotiations by 2027, while Georgia’s government has frozen its own path toward opening negotiations. Employing a comparative approach, the analysis examines factors such as government compliance, geopolitical contexts, and external influences, with a special focus on Russia’s role in shaping anti-EU narratives in Georgia. The article argues that strong public support, compliance with EU conditionalities, and the lack of a compelling geopolitical alternative explain the EU’s success in Albania. In Georgia, by contrast, strong public backing has not translated into progress: selective or outright non-compliance, the influence of Russian hard and sharp power, and elite-driven Euroscepticism have weakened the EU’s leverage.
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creator: Adrian Brisku
creator: Klodiana Beshku
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Adrian Brisku, Klodiana Beshku https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-10
publication date: 2025-12-10
starting page: 12
ending page: 42
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.2.012

Between Geopolitical Tensions and Social Fragility: Explaining Youth Radicalization in Central Asia
type: item
description: This article examines the impact of geopolitical tensions on youth radicalization in Central Asia, arguing that the phenomenon emerges from the interaction between domestic vulnerabilities and external strategic pressures. It moves beyond causal explanations based solely on socio-economic or religious factors and situates radicalization within the broader context of Eurasian power competition and regional insecurity. Using an interdisciplinary framework that combines political and geopolitical analysis with systemic and institutional approaches, the study identifies key drivers of radicalization, including unemployment, marginalization, labor migration, digital propaganda, prison radicalization, and identity-based tensions, alongside the destabilizing spillover effects of conflicts in Afghanistan and the Middle East. The article further demonstrates that intensifying rivalry among major and regional powers reshapes the regional security environment in ways that can indirectly facilitate extremist mobilization. It concludes that addressing youth radicalization in Central Asia requires a comprehensive and coordinated strategy that integrates domestic reform with a clear understanding of the broader geopolitical dynamics influencing regional stability.
subject: Articles
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creator: Kuralay Baizakova
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Kuralay Baizakova https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2026-07-13
publication date: 2026-07-13
starting page: 92
ending page: 115
doi: 10.46991/jia.2026.2.1.092

From Balancing to Active Hedging: The Transformation of Kazakhstan’s Multi-Vector Foreign Policy After 2022
type: item
description: The outbreak of the 2022 military crisis in Ukraine significantly redefined Kazakhstan’s geopolitical setting, highlighting the limits of its established foreign policy model and steering it toward a proactive hedging approach emblematic of middle powers. Based on the concepts of equidistant diplomacy and hedging, the article illustrates how Astana simultaneously reduces exposure to any single power center and converts participation in the multilateral forums into economic and political gains. Six hedging tracks are examined: Russian, Chinese, European, American (the United States), Turkic, and Southern (Gulf states), as well as an autonomous transit track represented by the Middle or Trans-Caspian Corridor. Drawing on legislative texts, policy declarations, and development frameworks from 2022–2025, the analysis traces Kazakhstan’s evolution from geographic balancing to rules-based portfolio management of interdependence in trade corridors, capital flows, and regulatory standards, highlighting the ongoing institutional entrenchment of Eurasian regionalism. Although Kazakhstan’s bargaining leverage has expanded, its hedging behavior remains limited by the need to coordinate with the C5 group (the five Central Asian states), manage asymmetries with larger economies, and ensure conformity with the institutional norms of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
subject: Articles
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creator: Fatima Kukeyeva
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Fatima Kukeyeva https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-10
publication date: 2025-12-10
starting page: 93
ending page: 117
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.2.093

Geoeconomics, Connectivity, and Strategic Partnership: Iran and Armenia in Eurasia’s New Order
type: item
description: The geoeconomics of Eurasia has been constantly evolving over the past decade. Various events have contributed to these changes, including the outbreak of war in Ukraine, sanctions on Russia’s geoeconomic infrastructure, shifts in the status of the Caspian Sea, and geopolitical developments in the South Caucasus. These transformations have created new conditions in Eurasian geoeconomic dynamics, prompting many stakeholders in the South Caucasus to redefine their geoeconomic roles. Iran’s new engagements in this field are defined within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Armenia, as a neighboring country with extensive historical ties to Iran, is considered a key player in the South Caucasus and a strategic partner for Iran. Under the new regional conditions, and in response to emerging uncertainties, Armenia serves as an important and reliable access route, especially for Iran–Russia geoeconomic interactions. Trade opportunities and energy cooperation can further deepen these interactions. A strategic partnership offers a low-cost, long-term framework for advancing mutual interests. It must include specific conditions, focus on priority sectors, and align with the interests of Iran and Armenia, as well as broader regional trends.
subject: Articles
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creator: Seyed Hassan Mirfakhraei
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Seyed Hassan Mirfakhraei https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-10
publication date: 2025-12-10
starting page: 118
ending page: 140
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.2.118

Bitcoin as a Potential Hegemonic Watershed: Strategic Foresight on Decentralized Money and the Future of Polarity
type: item
description: The purpose of this essay is to assess why and how Bitcoin —as an unofficial cryptocurrency with an acephalous, dispersed and stateless governance structure— could eventually alter the distribution of polarity within the international system. Through the analytical perspective of strategic foresight as a method to scan the horizon and calculate behavioural patterns, the following contents examine five hypothetical ways (both direct and indirect) in which BTC may either facilitate a potential hegemonic transition or reshape the global balance of power in the coming decades. These prospective possibilities include: 1) Bitcoin’s potential to become a major reserve currency; 2) Bitcoin as a vector of a counter-hegemonic grand strategy; 3) the proliferation of Bitcoin as a mirror of a declining US hegemony; 4) Bitcoin as a linchpin of ‘Pax Americana’ and 5) Bitcoin as a source of inspiration to develop alternatives to the dollar. This discussion integrates the explanatory views of hybrid disciplinary models like geoeconomics, mercantile realism and economic statecraft.
subject: Discussion Article
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creator: José Miguel Alonso Trabanco
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 José Miguel Alonso Trabanco https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-10
publication date: 2025-12-10
starting page: 160
ending page: 173
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.2.160

Reconstruction and Modernization of National Identity as Catalysts for Stateness: A Post-Soviet Perspective
type: item
description: This article explores the processes of national identity reconstruction and modernization as pivotal drivers in the formation and consolidation of stateness in post-Soviet contexts. Drawing on comparative case studies from selected former Soviet republics, this study analyzes how national identity narratives have been rearticulated and institutionalized to strengthen state legitimacy, foster political cohesion, and enhance sovereign functionality. Methodologically, the article employs a qualitative, comparative political analysis grounded in interpretive institutionalism and constructivist approaches to identity, integrating discourse analysis of official state narratives, policy documents, and public rhetoric with process tracing of post-Soviet nation-building trajectories. The analysis highlights the interplay between historical memory, cultural policy, and state-building strategies. It argues that the modernization of national identity, when grounded in inclusive civic values and responsive governance, substantially enhances a state’s capacity to assert authority and ensure internal stability. By positioning identity not merely as a derivative of statehood but as a strategic instrument in its construction, the article contributes to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underpinning contemporary state-building processes.
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creator: Violetta Manukyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Violetta Manukyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-10
publication date: 2025-12-10
starting page: 43
ending page: 69
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.2.043

https://journals.ysu.am/bulletin-ysu-int-rel-pol/article/view/13465
type: item
title: Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, The Power of Negotiation: Principles and Rules of Political and Diplomatic Negotiations [Սեյեդ Աբբաս Արաղչի, Բանակցության ուժը. քաղաքական և դիվանագիտական բանակցությունների սկզբունքներն ու կանոնները]. Yerevan, 2025, 193 p.
subject: Book Review
  topic: section
creator: Ruben Melkonyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Ruben Melkonyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-10
publication date: 2025-12-10
starting page: 174
ending page: 179
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.2.174

The Strategic Role of Central Asia in a Changing World Order: Resources, Logistics, and Competition
type: item
description: The article examines the key geopolitical factors influencing the competitive geo-economic dynamics in Central Asia, with a particular focus on the roles and political priorities of external actors. Central Asia, with its key geographic position on the Eurasian continent, occupies a strategic position in the foreign policy agendas of Russia and China, driven by both security and economic considerations. The United States, the European Union (EU), and Turkey also maintain substantial engagement in the region. Hence, the article analyzes the policies of these external actors in Central Asia, highlighting how, in the context of an evolving global order, their approaches differ significantly and produce varied effects on the region’s political stability and developmental trajectories. In this context, the study examines how transport and logistics policies affect the foreign policies of Central Asian states and what strategic issues these states are trying to resolve by participating in regional and international transport routes. The article further addresses key aspects related to the region’s long-term geopolitical and geo-economic prospects. It also analyzes the degree of engagement by South Caucasus countries, especially Azerbaijan and Georgia, in Central Asia’s transport and logistics networks, along with the broader infrastructural linkages between the two regions.
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creator: Zhak Manukyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Zhak Manukyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-07-06
publication date: 2025-07-06
starting page: 66
ending page: 99
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.1.066

How Islam Rules in Iran: Theology and Theocracy in the Islamic Republic, by Mehran Kamrava, Cambridge University Press, 2024, 354 pp.
type: item
subject: Book Review
  topic: section
creator: Suren Tadevosyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Suren Tadevosyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-07-06
publication date: 2025-07-06
starting page: 151
ending page: 154
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.1.151

The Renewed Impetus to the European Union Enlargement: An Opportunity for Closer Ties between the EU and Armenia
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description: Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has triggered a renewed impetus for the EU’s Enlargement Policy, which has acquired geopolitical significance with the unprecedented inclusion of three Eastern partners under this framework, together with the revitalization of negotiations with the Western Balkans. Following Aldecoa’s understanding of enlargement as a process that implies a restructuring of the EU’s political system, there is also a need to address internal reforms to accommodate this new wave of accession. The consideration of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine as candidate countries has changed the raison d’être of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). Originally conceived for states without clear prospects of EU integration, the ENP’s purpose has shifted, effectively opening the door for further integration of other Eastern Partnership countries into the European Union. In this context, Armenia is enhancing its relations with the EU, seeking closer integration, and even sparking debates in the country about formally requesting membership. Major challenges ahead may include the need to consolidate democracy, reverse its economic and military integration with Russia, and reach a peace agreement with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
subject: Articles
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creator: Eduardo Garcia Cancela
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Eduardo Garcia Cancela https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-07-06
publication date: 2025-07-06
starting page: 25
ending page: 44
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.1.025

Building Bridges: Kuwait’s Subtle Diplomacy and Humanitarian Soft Power in a Fractured Region
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description: Amidst the global transitions towards a multipolar order in the 21st century, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are emerging as a crucial regional bloc aiming for wider global relevance. Among these, Kuwait, despite being a ‘small state,’ has gained respect and stature through its diplomatic acumen, playing roles as a mediator and aid giver, while committing to multilateralism. This paper examines how Kuwait’s foreign policy posture has evolved within the region’s geopolitical structure, with a primary focus on its soft power projection through subtle diplomacy. Using a historical framework, this study highlights the emergence of Kuwait as a stabilizing actor amidst growing regional rivalries through a comparative analysis. The author concludes that despite internal structural constraints and geo-strategic external pressures, Kuwait’s nuanced foreign policy approach is a good example of how small-state diplomacy can shape larger regional dynamics. Thereby, this article contributes to a broader understanding of how small states exercise global agency in regions where great power competition and intra-regional rivalries intersect.
subject: Articles
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creator: Radhika Lakshminarayanan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Radhika Lakshminarayanan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-07-06
publication date: 2025-07-06
starting page: 45
ending page: 65
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.1.045

Polarization, Transactionalism and Small States in the International System: Navigating a Fractured Order
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description: It is widely recognized that the global order is undergoing significant strategic transformations. While these shifts are frequently attributed to heightened geopolitical competition, relatively less scholarly attention has been directed towards the internal dynamics within states, particularly the role of political polarization, in amplifying international tensions. Increasingly polarized domestic politics, coupled with nationalist orientations toward foreign policy, compromise bipartisan consensus and foster transactional, self-interested behavior in international relations. This paper examines the relationship between domestic political polarization and transactional approaches to foreign policy, focusing especially, though not exclusively, on the administration of US President Donald Trump. It explores how these tendencies undermine established international security norms, institutions, and mechanisms. Additionally, the article assesses current and anticipated responses from small states as they adapt to the profound transformations reshaping the international system.
subject: Articles
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creator: Rouben Azizian
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Rouben Azizian https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-07-06
publication date: 2025-07-06
starting page: 7
ending page: 24
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.1.007

From Yalta to the Unknown: State Foreign Policy Features in the Transitional Period of the International Relations System
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description: States face increased geopolitical volatility and uncertainty during transitional periods in the international relations system. Ensuring national security and strategically strengthening a country’s position internationally have emerged as the primary objectives of state foreign policy. States should be keen to form significant relationships with countries with similar long-term interests. Clear identification and consistent pursuit of national interests are crucial, as genuine partnerships can only develop when shared strategic priorities are recognized and effectively advanced. A state committed to its national interests naturally attracts authentic allies and accurately identifies its adversaries, whereas neglecting these interests leads to isolation and vulnerability. Within this context, a fundamental task of state foreign policy is the implementation of strategic initiatives that enhance a state’s global position without sacrificing core interests for the sake of external actors. As the international system moves towards an uncertain future, decisive interest-based foreign policy is essential for the states that aim to gain a stable and influential role in the new world order.
subject: Discussion Article
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creator: Shavarsh Kocharyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Shavarsh Kocharyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-07-06
publication date: 2025-07-06
starting page: 136
ending page: 150
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.1.136

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on International Relations: Are Current Paradigms Still Relevant?
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description: This paper examines the increasing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on International Relations (IR), with a particular emphasis on its transformative impact across the political, economic, and military-security spheres. It critically examines various scientific and theoretical discourses that define AI, situating these debates within key international relations (IR) paradigms—realism, liberalism, neoliberalism, and constructivism. The study explores how AI is reshaping the global balance of power, accelerating arms races, and enabling new forms of cooperation, while also introducing complex legal, political, and ethical challenges, especially in the context of international humanitarian law. Special attention is paid to the implications of AI for foreign policy decision-making processes and how technological advancements are reshaping established practices and norms. Furthermore, the paper contrasts anthropocentric and technocentric approaches, evaluating whether traditional IR theories and methodologies are sufficient to interpret, explain, and analyze the profound geopolitical and geo-economic transformations induced by AI. Ultimately, it assesses the capacity of IR scholarship to understand the realities of an increasingly AI-driven international system.
subject: Articles
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creator: Vrezh Kardumyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Vrezh Kardumyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-07-06
publication date: 2025-07-06
starting page: 116
ending page: 135
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.1.116

International North–South Transport Corridor: A Renewed Horizon of Trade Connectivity Between India and Russia
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description: In the context of shifting geopolitical alignments and evolving regional strategies, Indo-Russian trade relations are entering a new phase of strategic relevance. This paper examines the potential of the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) as both an instrument for enhancing bilateral trade and a broader geopolitical lever. Two central questions guide the analysis: first, how the INSTC can redefine the scale, efficiency, and scope of economic exchange between India and Russia; and second, how it may influence regional power dynamics amid growing global fragmentation. As Western powers increasingly employ trade as a tool of political coercion, and Russia seeks to recalibrate its international partnerships, the INSTC emerges as a critical avenue for fostering strategic autonomy and connectivity. Beyond its economic utility, the corridor reflects a shared ambition to challenge existing power asymmetries and reinforce multipolarity. This study situates the INSTC within a wider set of developments, including China’s expanding footprint, India’s commitment to a rules-based international order, ongoing geopolitical tensions, and Russia’s pursuit of a rebalanced global security architecture. Against this backdrop, a careful reassessment of the INSTC’s strategic value is necessary to understand its implications for the future of Eurasian connectivity and order.
subject: Articles
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creator: Sandeep Tripathi
creator: Urvashi Singh
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Sandeep Tripathi, Urvashi Singh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-10
publication date: 2025-12-10
starting page: 141
ending page: 159
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.2.141

Digital Inclusion VS Digital Sovereignty: RRI as a Platform for Integrating Ethics into Geopolitics
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description: The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has intensified the global tension between digital inclusion, which advocates for equitable access to technology, and digital sovereignty, emphasizing national control over data and infrastructure. This article examines how Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) can reconcile these competing imperatives by embedding ethical principles, such as inclusivity, sustainability, precaution, and reflexivity, into technology governance. Through qualitative case studies in education (e.g., Kenya’s eLimu and India’s DIKSHA platforms) and healthcare (e.g., WHO’s pandemic data-sharing protocols), the study demonstrates that RRI fosters participatory design, balances sovereignty with global collaboration, and mitigates systemic biases. Findings reveal that rigid sovereignty policies often exacerbate inequalities, while RRI-driven frameworks enable marginalized communities to co-create solutions, ensuring culturally relevant and ethically aligned technologies. The analysis highlights RRI’s potential to transform geopolitical competition into equitable governance, advocating for its institutionalization through international mechanisms such as the UN’s Global Digital Compact. By prioritizing social justice, RRI redefines sovereignty as a stewardship obligation, ensuring AI development uplifts, rather than undermines, vulnerable populations. The article concludes that integrating RRI principles into both global and local agendas is crucial for dismantling digital hierarchies and promoting inclusive innovation.
subject: Articles
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creator: Oleg Gurov
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Oleg Gurov https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-07-06
publication date: 2025-07-06
starting page: 100
ending page: 115
doi: 10.46991/jia.2025.1.1.100

Gevorg Ghukasyan, The Armenian Lobby of Europe: TheEssence and Context of Ethnic Lobbying
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description: The purpose of the work is to highlight the transnational political role of ethnic lobbying in modern political processes, assess the structural-operational possibilities of the European Armenian lobby, the characteristics of its activities, identify lobbying entities and understand the scope of their influence and the possibility of role in RA-EU relations. The role of the institution of ethnic lobbying in the process of political modernization was evaluated. At the same time, the possibilities of ethnic lobbying to act as an operator of "soft power" were considered, the possibilities of lobbying in the conditions of the value system of multiculturalism were revealed, the chain of interaction and interaction of the "homeland-diaspora-host state" triangle was systematically characterized. The lobbying structures of the Armenian diaspora in Europe and the main directions and tools of their activities were identified, and the political behavior of the EU regarding the Karabakh problem was revealed. The intra-European perception of ethnic lobbying, the institutional and legislative possibilities of lobbying and its variety of ethnic lobbying in the EU have been analyzed. The monograph is intended for political scientists, historians, Armenologists, the governing body, professors and students of RA higher educational institutions, as well as the general reading public.
subject: Book Review
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creator: Gegham Petrosyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Author(s) and the Journal Political Sciences:Bulletin of Yerevan University https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-11-29
publication date: 2024-11-29
starting page: 72
ending page: 75
doi: 10.46991/BYSU.D/2024.15.3.072

Formation and Transformation of National Role Concepts in Contemporary International Relations
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description: The purpose of this article is to assess the significance of national role conceptions (NRCs) in the analysis of states' foreign policy by highlighting their internal and external dimensions. The article evaluates the significance of role theory in the context of different schools of international relations. The article compares existing definitions of NRCs and identifies their specific limitations, including the limitation of engagement levels, the assumption of internal consensus, and the neglect of role dynamics. The article proposes a new definition of NRCs that includes a dynamic and collective understanding of a nation's strategic goals, considering both internal cultural and social factors as well as external environmental shifts and influences. As a result, the analysis of NRCs is proposed as an effective tool for addressing theoretical and practical issues in international relations, with the goal of explaining and predicting foreign policy behavior.
subject: International Relations
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creator: Suren Tadevosyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Author(s) and the Journal Political Sciences:Bulletin of Yerevan University https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-11-29
publication date: 2024-11-29
starting page: 12
ending page: 25
doi: 10.46991/BYSU.D/2024.15.3.012

Some General Manifestations of Transition Periods of International Relations System
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description: During the period of operation of the international relations system (IRS), the main actors of international relations (superpowers) that formed that system, despite the deep contradictions that exist among themselves, have a common interest in maintaining the current system, because it provides them with a privileged position in world politics. Guided by this common interest, the superpowers restrain each other and, with joint efforts, restrain actions of other actors in international relations that could undermine the existing system. During the transition period of the IRS, on the one hand, the deterrence mechanism ceases to function, and on the other hand, the superpowers seek to use or provoke processes that will strengthen themselves and weaken the positions of their opponents in the struggle for the new IRS. The expression of the transformation of the interests of the superpowers are the general manifestations of the transition periods of the IRS 1 - an increase in the number of local and regional armed conflicts and their intensity; 2 - increase of genocide and other crimes against humanity; 3 - disregard of international law by actors of international relations and non-state organizations; 4 - discrediting of universal structures of international cooperation and decline in effectiveness of activities; 5 - a world war in which the victorious superpowers establish a new IRS. The listed manifestations, so far with the exception of the world war, are also characteristic of the current transitional period from Yalta-Potsdam to the new IRS.
subject: International Relations
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creator: Shavarsh Kocharyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Author(s) and the Journal Political Sciences:Bulletin of Yerevan University https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-11-29
publication date: 2024-11-29
starting page: 5
ending page: 11
doi: 10.46991/BYSU.D/2024.15.3.005

Armenian Experience in the Usage of Stratagems (General Overview)
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description: Chinese, Greek, and Roman examples of the use of stratagems are known from the history of the Ancient World. The leaders, especially those experienced in military fields, used various tricks to achieve their goal. There are well-known examples of the use of stratagems in the Armenian military art, the use of which is an opportunity to ensure success in achieving numerical and technical superiority of the enemy. We often encounter actions that distract the enemy's attention, make an unexpected attack and cause panic, blocking. There are memorable examples of strategies from the history of military operations in 1991- 1994: similar technologies were used during the liberation of Shushi, Karvachar, Sanasar, Akna. The possession of strategic skills and their proper use in military operations and operations of local importance can be of great importance for achieving your own goals, bending the advantage of another person in your favor and, of course, the successful conduct of military operations. In this sense, a deep and comprehensive study of the field, identification, development, systematization of effective experience with a positive result can be useful for future achievements.
subject: Political science
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creator: Hayk Nazaryan
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Author(s) and the Journal Political Sciences:Bulletin of Yerevan University https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-11-29
publication date: 2024-11-29
starting page: 50
ending page: 60
doi: 10.46991/BYSU.D/2024.15.3.050