Armenia Azerbaijan Confrontation, Competition, Cooperation & Armenian National Security Comm. Center

Описание: ARPA Institute Panel Discussion
"Armenia Azerbaijan - Confrontation, Competition, Cooperation &
Armenian National Security Communication Center"
Panelists: Nerses Kopalyan, Anna Ohanyan, David Akopyan, Scott Fisher, . Moderator: Hriar Cabayan
Saturday, September 6, 2025, at 10:00 AM PDT
Abstract: Discussed and explored will be key geopolitical developments in the South Caucasus
following the Washington Summit, offering insights into the negotiations that culminated in the formal
agreements signed at the event. It will also examine the recently signed memorandums of
understanding that significantly enhance the U.S.-Armenia partnership. Another focus will be a
proposed concept for an Armenian National Security Communication Center, aimed at strengthening
Armenia’s strategic communication capabilities to shape its national narrative, bolster democratic
resilience, and counter the fragmented and reactive nature of its current information environment. The
session will conclude with a discussion on how these two themes, geopolitical strategy and strategic
communication, mutually reinforce each other.
Dr. Nerses Kopalyan is an associate professor-in- residence of Political Science at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His fields of specialization include international
security, geopolitics, political theory, and philosophy of science. He has conducted
extensive research on polarity, superpower relations, and security studies. He is the
author of World Political Systems After Polarity (Routledge, 2017), the co-author of
Sex, Power, And Politics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), co-author of Latinos in Nevada:
A Political, Social, and Economic Profile (Nevada University Press, 2021), and co-author of Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War (Taylor and Francis, forthcoming 2023). He is a
contributor to EVN Report. He has contributed publications with Le Figaro, The Times of Israel, and
The National Interest. His current research and academic publication concentrate on geopolitical and
great power relations within Eurasia, its impact on small state security, and the broader implications
for democratic breakthroughs within authoritarian orbits. He has conducted extensive field work in
Armenia on the country's security architecture and its democratization process. He has authored
several policy papers for the Government of Armenia and served as voluntary advisor to various state
institutions.
Dr. Anna Ohanyan is the Richard B. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Political
Science and International Relations at Stonehill College, and two-time Fulbright Scholar
to South Caucasus. Her latest three books are Russia Abroad: Driving Regional Fracture
in Post-Communist Eurasia and Beyond, edited (Georgetown University Press, 2018),
Networked Regionalism as Conflict Management (Stanford University Press, 2015), and
Armenia’s Velvet Revolution, co-edited with Laurence Broers (I.B. Tauris, 2020). She
has also published numerous articles in journals and contributed to the Washington Post, Foreign Policy
magazine, The National Interest, Al Jazeera, and Wilson Quarterly and others. Prof. Ohanyan served as
a doctoral fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Her research has been
supported by IREX, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the German Marshall Fund,
the U.S. State Department and Eurasia Foundation. She has consulted for numerous organizations such
as the United Nations Foundation, the World Bank, the National Intelligence Council Project, the U.S.
Department of State, the Carter Center, and USAID. Her fieldwork has taken her to Russia, Northern
Ireland, the South Caucasus, and the Balkans.
Dr. David Akopyan had dual careers- PHD in physics studied complex systems, after
for 26 years worked for the UN in 15 countries across many regions. Last 10 years of
his UN career spent in Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria, worst crisis affected countries,
holding leadership positions as UN Development Program Deputy Director, Country
Dr. David Akopyan had dual careers- PHD in physics tudied complex systems, after
for 26 years worked for the UN in 15 countries across many regions. Last 10 years of
his UN career spent in Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria, worst crisis affected countries,
holding leadership positions as UN Development Program Deputy Director, Country