CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VI (1) Contemporary-Eurasia-VI-1-engl | Seite 4

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VI (1)
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
RUBEN SAFRASTYAN
NEW GEOPOLITICS FOR A SMALL COUNTRY:
ARMENIA IN WIKIPEDIA
Armenia is a country with small territory and population. Its
territory takes the 137 th point in the world, and the population
occupies the 131 st . Armenia is not rich in natural resources. It has no
developed economy. In terms of GDP, it takes the 130 th point in the
world (according to IMF). All these indicators are unbiased. We can
add a number of others, not very different from these ones. According
to all these indicators, Armenia belongs to the group of small
countries, ranking second, the bottom half of the world list.
Besides, Armenia is a landlocked country. It has four neighboring
states. Two of them closed their borders with Armenia. One of them
has involved the country into a long-lasting conflict, which from time
to time develops from low intensity to high intensity armed conflict.
All the above-mentioned factors determine the “vulnerability” of
Armenian position in terms of geopolitics. Such disadvantageous
circumstances necessitate to struggle for survival, or if we apply to a
geopolitical tool, the fight to keep control over a certain space or, in
other words, territory. For a quarter of the century since the restoration
of Armenia's independence, the country’s ruling elite has developed a
certain geopolitical paradigm. In this report, I use the concept of
paradigm as it’s defined by French philosopher Michel Foucault, who
described a paradigm as a specific discursive formation, a historically
rational way of understanding reality.
The basis of such a paradigm is the idea of the strategic alliance
with Russia. This paradigm has been operating up till now. Its further
development has become the membership of the military and
economic alliances in which Russia plays the leading role. I mean the
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian
Economic Union (EaEU). As this topic