CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2) ContEurVIII2 | Page 55

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2)
of all parties to the conflict, the likelihood of choosing peace is increased,
whereas ethnic tensions, if deepened, contribute to the strengthening of
the principles of the "affected nation" and the "legal right" between
nations that cause hostile, strained relations. 16
From the point of view of game theory, the modernization process
with its game logic does not exclude that as a complex whole it includes
several value systems. 17 From the point of view of rational choice, the
process of modernization is the choice of socially acceptable and
progressive values or their comparison with the existing national value
system. In this case, the choice of values and approaches that lead to
peace becomes the result of the rational choice of the society.
In the case of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, one of the most
important preconditions for progress in the negotiation process is to
overcome the great differences between the conflicting parties' values and
perceptions, but not through artificial approximation. It is possible that
changes on one side can also stimulate developments on the other side
and change the general atmosphere. In this respect, the revolution in
Armenia and its democratization can possibly spur positive changes in
the negotiation process, in case of coordinating actions with Artsakh and
involving Artsakh, if the Azerbaijani side also alters its approach
adequately. Otherwise, the "democratic peace" 18 approach does not work
if one of the parties does not advance in the path of democratization,
especially if it clearly prefers war. Such a situation complicates the
resolution of the conflict and causes other parties to the conflict to
toughen their own positions by providing additional security guarantees.
Summing up, we can state that for this moment no progress has
been made in the negotiations. As a result of the internal political

16 Mikhail Chernysh, “Factors of the emergence and reproduction of interethnic tension in
a theoretical perspective,” Polis. Politicheskiye issledovaniya, № 5 (2016): 25-36. (in
Russian)
17 Mariam Margaryan, "The Evolution of the Value System of Political Modernization,"
Political Modernization and Political Processes in the Republic of Armenia, (Proceedings
of the Third Conference of Political Science), 2013, (in Armenian)
https://mmmargaryan.wordpress.com/2016/11/23/%D6%84%D5%A1%D5%B2%D5%A1
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18 David Kinsella, "No Rest for the Democratic Peace," American Political Science
Review, 99 no. 3 (2005): 453–457.
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