June 11, 2013

Toppling Authoritarian Regimes:
Serbian and Chilean Experience

Yerevan—Yerevan—The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) today, 11 June 2013, held its follow-up series of presentations on civilian movements by flashing out the major similarities and divergences underlying the nonviolent struggles vis-à-vis Serbian and Chilean regimes in light of Samuel Huntington’s “Democracy's Third Wave” theoretical framework. Against the backdrop of historical and contextual specificities provided as a back up information, ACNIS analyst Edgar Vardanian underscored the importance of international experience—let alone its meaningful localization—with respect to organization of broad-based civilian movements invoked to institute the desired structural changes en route to democratic statehood.

Although different political settings of any civilian struggle prevent from making standard generalizations, Edgar Vardanian remarked, some overlapping themes can well be drawn from the analysis of Serbian and Chilean cases. In particular, the movements proved viable in strategic and tactical matters in terms of establishing committees and shifting coalitions and, thereby, rendering the required institutional and organizational scaffoldings for uninterrupted performance and continuous public engagement. Also, each movement enjoyed bottom-up public support for its ability to unite different social forces around commonly shared political objectives which, in turn, determined their rallying potential for success. Finally, “through maintenance of nonviolent strategies, both movements succeeded in minimizing the unnecessary confrontations with security forces by curtailing the attempts of the regime to rely on use of force,” Edgar Vardanian concluded.

The presentation featured a dynamic exchange of viewpoints among the participants who articulated their ideas on organizational, strategic and tactical matters conducive to mounting a successful resistance movement tailored toward the establishment of an open, democratic society.

The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) is a leading independent strategic research center located in Yerevan, Armenia.  As an independent, objective institution committed to conducting professional policy research and analysis, ACNIS strives to raise the level of public debate and seeks to broaden public engagement in the public policy process, as well as fostering greater and more inclusive public knowledge. Founded in 1994, ACNIS is the institutional initiative of Raffi K. Hovannisian, Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs.  Over the past fifteen years, ACNIS has acquired a prominent reputation as a primary source of professional independent research and analysis covering a wide range of national and international policy issues.

For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; email root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am; or visit www.acnis.am.