The openMovements series invites leading social scientists to share their research results and perspectives on contemporary social struggles.
Since 2010, protests sparked by civic initiatives have become very common in Armenia’s capital Yerevan and, to a lesser extent, in the smaller cities of Gyumri and Vanadzor. Civic initiatives in Armenia address a range of issues including the environment, cultural preservation, consumer rights, labour and employment issues, as well as human rights. However, they are distinct from formal, professionalized NGOs in a number of key aspects, which include the issues they address, their organizational structures, their repertories of action, and their lack of engagement with foreign donors.
Similar to the movements discussed by Kerstin Jacobsen, Ionel Sava and others recently in openMovements, civic initiatives in Armenia represent a new wave of civic activism in the post-Soviet period.
