ACADEMIC AND EXPERT POTENTIAL OF THE DIASPORA: ISSUES OF ASSESSMENT AND ORGANIZATION
04.03.2013
Arestakes Simavoryan
Head of the Center for Armenian Studies, “Noravank” Foundation
Vahram Hovyan
Expert of the Center for Armenian Studies, “Noravank” Foundation It
is very difficult to underestimate the influence of the intellectual
potential on the practical politics. In the world’s leading countries
the bodies, organizations and other political actors carrying out state
policy, while implementing it, take as a ground the elaborations and
analysis of academic organizations as well as analytical centers and
think tanks. In other words, very often, the intellectual production of
the academic and expert community conditions the essence and content
of the decisions taken by the authorities.
The considerable part of the Armenian intellectual resources is
outside the Republic of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Living
in different countries of the world, including the leading powers, the
intellectuals of the Armenian origin are a part of those countries’
academic and analytical organizations. They play important roles
in the analytical and academic institutions and think tanks in the
U.S., Russia and countries of Europe and CIS. Many of them achieved
considerable success; e.g. the president of the U.S. Carnegie
Foundation Vartan Gregorian, the Dean of the Baruch College Ervand
Abrahamian, Professor of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Daron
Acemoglu, the Director of the Institute of the World History of the
Russian Academy of Science Aleksandr Chubaryan, etc.
The rational usage of the Armenian intellectual resources abroad
(in both academic and expert spheres) can bring tangible benefit to
both Armenia and Diaspora. Being a part of the academic and expert
communities of the world’s leading powers:
they are better informed about the political, domestic and foreign
policy processes and tendencies in their countries, the moods of the
authorities and opposition, etc., which if not directly but influences
the political situation in our region, including the regional standing
of Armenia; many of them have better chances to be informed about the
global processes, events in any region or country in the world that
are taking place or going to take place than the Armenian academic
or expert circles; and under the current globalizing conditions the
developments in different parts of the world and especially global
processes cannot but impact political and economic situation in
Armenia; The academics and expert from the Diaspora are the bearers
of the academic and expert culture and experience of their countries
(American, Russian, European, etc.) and adoption or import of these
cultures and experience to Armenia can considerably enrich the
local academic and expert culture, thus essentially expanding the
intellectual potential of Armenia’s newly formed expert school.
The efficient usage of Diaspora’s intellectual potential for good of
the national interests implies some work with this potential which
is based on the detailed researches and analysis. Here two key steps
are important:
1. Assessment of the potential – Its goal is to make clear idea
of the Armenian academic and expert community in the Diaspora, its
intellectual capabilities;
2. Elaboration of the mechanisms of its efficient usage – Its goal
is to make the Armenian academic and expert community’s potential
of the Diaspora serve the national interests. It implies uniting of
the Armenian academics and experts working in different countries,
organizations and spheres under the same roof and elaboration of
the institutional and non-institutional mechanisms directed to the
establishment and strengthening of the ties and connections between
them and academic and expert community of Armenia in different formats.
It should be mentioned that in the Armenian reality some researches
directed to the assessment of the Armenian intellectual potential
abroad has been carried out. E.g. the research of “Noravank”
Foundation on “The Issues of Self-Organization of the Armenian
Communities in the South Russia” (2010) is remarkable. Hence there
has been no comprehensive research carried out till now.
Unlike many researches directed to the exposure and “inventorying” of
the Armenians involved in academic circles, the intellectual potential
of the Armenian expert community has not yet been studied. There are
no mechanisms which would allow to use this potential for the good
of the Armenia and Armeniancy with maximum efficiency.
The goals of the potential assessment
The solution of this issue implies:
Revelation of the academic and expert resources of the Diaspora. The
goal of this sphere is to reveal the Armenian specialists involved
in the academic and analytical structures abroad in the sphere of
humanities – political scientists, sociologists, economists, lawyers,
historians, etc.
Assessment of the academic and analytical potential of the Diaspora
in the sphere of humanities. This implies creation of a database of
the Armenian specialists, their classification in accordance with
their academic degrees, countries, fields, academic and analytical
organizations, etc.
Organizational issues
Since its establishment (in 1918) the Republic of Armenia has carried
out the policy of consolidation of the intellectual potential of the
Armeniancy and placed it in a service of the national interests. With
this purpose in both first and second republics the programmes on the
“repatriation” of the representatives of the intellectual, military
and other circles of the Armenians from abroad had been initiated. For
example, initiated by A. Myasnikyan repatriation of a part of the
intellectual resources of the Armenians from abroad to a newly formed
Soviet Armenia and his great contribution to the development of the
republic is one of the vivid examples of such policy.
Modern world realities imply supplementing the traditional forms
and ways of consolidation of the potential of the Armeniancy by the
new ones. The growing role of the network structures in the social
life, conditioned by the development of means of information and
communication, obliges the appropriate bodies of the third Republic
of Armenia to implement appropriate mechanisms of consolidation and
efficient usage of the potential of the Diaspora. This task demands
serious studies and detailed analyses, but in this regard some
preliminary observations can be made.
To place the intellectual potential of the Armenians from abroad in
service of the Armeniancy, it is necessary to take into account a
number of realities which are inherent in modern conditions:
The Armenians who attained high place in the intellectual sphere are
rent from the community life and at the same time they are fully
and directly integrated in the societies of these counties. The
results of their intellectual activity are completely placed in
service of the national interests and state and political bodies of
these countries; Their mass repatriation (returning and residence)
in Armenia is unrealistic, taking into consideration on the one hand
their deep integration into the life of their countries and on the
other hand not very conductive environment in Armenia.
Taking into consideration the aforementioned realities it is reasonable
to lay emphasis on the remote operation with the Armenian academics
and experts from abroad and this process can be manifested in the
following ways:
Commission of the individual studies. High-quality researches on the
subjects interesting for Armenia and Armeniancy can be commissioned
to the Armenian experts from Diaspora.
Commission of collective researches. The collective researches,
in which the experts and academics from Diaspora will be involved,
on the same subjects can also be commissioned. In other words working
groups of Armenian experts from the Diaspora will be formed.
Organization of the meetings and discussions in different formats.
Meetings and discussions (academic and research conferences,
seminars, round tables, etc.) with the participation of the Armenian
academics and experts from Armenia and Diaspora on definite issues
(Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Armenian-Turkish relations, strategy of
development of Armenia, etc.) can be held from time to time.
It should be mentioned that the All-Armenian forum of the political
scientists and experts in international relations1 organized
in November 2012 by the Ministry of Diaspora of Armenia, YSU and
“Noravank” Foundation was the first step taken in this direction. The
subject of the forum was “Challenges of the 21st Century and the
Issues of Security of Armenia” which was natural for the first such
forum. But while organizing such forums it is more reasonable to
concentrate on more specific questions.
Simplification and improvement of the effectiveness of the remote
operation with the Armenian academics and expert community from abroad
also inevitably implies creation of the institutional structures which
should be of network character. It is also reasonable to establish
in the status of NGOs the associations of the Armenian experts in
different countries (U.S., Russia, France, etc.). It is obvious that
working with such organizations can be more efficient than the activity
of separate experts. The network structure implies consolidation
of the Armenian experts from separate countries with regional and
all-Armenian associations. Organization of the intellectual potential
of the Diaspora in this case will take a shape of a network structure;
the number of the nationwide structures will increase by one unit
and the work with them will make the cooperation between Armenia and
Diaspora even more efficient.
The Armenian Research Network Institute (the first Armenian research
network in Armenia) established in 2012, can be considered as the
first step in this direction.
1 See,
e.g.
“Globus” analytical journal, #2, 2013
Another materials of author THE GROUNDS OF INTER-CONFESSIONAL
COOPERATION IN THE DIASPORA[03.09.2012] CHRISTIANS IN TODAY’S TURKEY
(Protestants and Catholics) [24.05.2012] THE CLERICAL AND CHURCH
ISSUES OF THE ARMENIAN CATHOLIC COMMUNITY IN RUSSIA[22.12.2011]
CATHOLIC ARMENIANS IN POLAND[17.10.2011] FORECASTS ON TURKEY’S
FUTURE[15.09.2011] ON THE ISSUES OF THE CATHOLICS ARMENIAN[09.06.2011]
ARMENIAN CATHOLIC COMMUNITY IN RUSSIA[24.12.2010] ARMENIAN CATHOLICS
IN TURKEY[01.03.2010] PROBLEMS OF ARMENIAN CATHOLIC COMMUNITIES IN
AKHALKALAK AND NINOSTSMINDA [01.06.2009]
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http://tert.am/am/news/2012/11/19/21-dari-martahraver-hamajoghov/.