Challenges Of Armenian Culture And Values

[Armen]

PRESS RELEASE

Armenian Center for National and International Studies

75 Yerznkian Street

Yerevan 375033, Armenia

Tel: (+374 - 1) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18

Fax: (+374 - 1) 52.48.46

E-mail: root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am

Website: www.acnis.am

 

July 29, 2004

 

ACNIS Takes on the Challenges of Armenian Culture and Values

 

Yerevan--The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)

convened today a roundtable discussion on "The Challenges of Culture and

Value System in Armenia." As part of the forum, the Center released the

results of its specialized opinion survey, entitled "Value and Ideology

Benchmarks: Imperatives and Alternatives," which involved more than 50

experts from Yerevan and across Armenia.

ACNIS director of administration Karapet Kalenchian greeted the invited

guests and public participants with opening remarks. "These deliberations on

culture, together with the expert survey preceding them, aim to present one

focus group's professional perceptions of ideology guideposts which are

characteristic of a transitional period, as well as the true role and place

of our system of values and patterns of cultural development," he said.

ACNIS legal and political affairs analyst Stepan Safarian focused in detail

on the findings of the expert opinion polls. Accordingly, the majority of

the surveyed experts assert that Armenian society today does not have

clearly-defined value-based guidelines. 4% of experts find it difficult to

answer this question, and only 6% give a positive answer. According to 20%

of respondents, the system of values operating in everyday life is the

continuation by inertia of the system formed during the Soviet years, 10%

think it comes to us from the depth of centuries, and 50% are convinced that

it has been formed during the years of independence. The experts are of the

opinion that Armenian society often favors personal values and their

manifestations, with egocentrism (90%) prevailing over altruism. Regarding

group interests, 96% are of the opinion that society favors clan interests

over collectivism. On the level of national values, 44% and 48%,

respectively, choose nationalism and patriotism, and 80% and 72% cite the

human values of cosmopolitanism and humanitarianism, respectively.

48% of respondent specialists think that the benchmarks of societal values

should be defined by liberal democracy, 18% social democracy, and 18%

national democracy. 6% of participants point to the supremacy of group

interests as the primary obstacle to deepening of the democratic system of

values adopted by the Armenian public, while 20% blame the society's

unsatisfactory level of political consciousness, 4% its low educational

level, 2% the lack of propagation of relevant values, and 2% the

counter-propagation of those values. 54%, 6%, and 2% find inappropriate the

attitude of the authorities, opposition, and political forces supporting the

authorities, respectively, toward those values. Taking into account today's

imperatives, 26% underscore the importance of a sovereign state, 14% human

rights and freedoms, 14% spirituality, 14% constitutional order, 10%

democracy, 10% patriotism, 6% separation of powers, and 4% equal rights.

According to the experts, the average Armenian's conduct of late has changed

markedly toward types of negative demeanor. Only 6% assess lawfulness to be

a positive feature of the average Armenian's conduct, 94% as negative.

Lawlessness in the average Armenian's behavior is marked as negative by 100%

of experts, fairness as positive by 38% and negative by 62%, unfairness as

positive by 26% and negative by 74%, honesty and dishonesty are considered

positive by 30% and 84% and negative by 70% and 16%, kindness and evil as

positive by 46% and 70% and negative by 54% and 30%, initiative and

passiveness as positive by 46% and 62% and negative by 54% and 38%, devotion

and treachery as positive by 36% and 66% and negative by 64% and 34%,

civility and rudeness as positive by 20% and 76% and negative by 80% and

24%. Diligence is marked as positive by 76% and negative by 24%.

It is noteworthy that the experts surveyed are convinced that young people

are inclined toward democracy, the middle generation toward

authoritarianism, and the senior generation toward totalitarianism. In the

event of maintaining the current value benchmarks and system, Armenia will

proceed to authoritarianism according to 66% of respondents, to

totalitarianism accordingly to 12%, to democracy according to 16%. 38% opine

that Armenia will establish a system of values characteristic of a

democratic society in 25 years, 6% in 50 years, and 4% in 100 years, whereas

8% do not believe that Armenia will ever have such a system of values. 40%

have a more optimistic attitude toward this issue. They think it will take

five to ten years. The specialists maintain that from the perspective of

civilizational values Armenian society is closest to Eastern civilization

(10%), Russian civilization (10%), and European civilization (12%), while

44% hold that Armenian civilization is a synthesis of all.

What is the role of the spiritual world in our life today? 74% of experts

conclude that this role is a small one, 24% think it plays no role, and only

2% say it leads a great role. 14% of respondents point to the

super-materialized character of contemporary life as the main reason for the

relatively small role of the spiritual world, 20% to the low quality of

spiritual sustenance, 6% to the lack of propagation of spiritual values, 6%

to the passiveness of the intelligentsia, and 20% and 6% to the absence of

exemplary behavior by the authorities and the political elite, respectively.

66% of the respondents are male, and 34% female; 26% are 21-30 years of age,

40% 31-40, 24% 41-50, 10% 51 or above. All the experts surveyed have

received higher education, 14% are full professors (PhD), 82% hold a Master'

s degree, and 4% have earned a Bachelor's degree.

 

The second item on the day's agenda was a presentation by Yerevan State

University professor Vardan Khachatrian, who addressed "The Old and the New:

Tradition and Progress." "The unique aspect of Armenian identity is the

cultural stratum that has come to us from ancient times and promoted the

Armenian people's survival," he said, emphasizing the role of the church,

which has recently diminished. "The guiding precept of the spiritual elite

today is not the struggle for spiritual progress but the ability to adapt to

the present regime," Khachatrian concluded, noting that the latter is unable

to foster society's spiritual development since it pursues a policy of

devastating symbols of national pride instead of paying tribute to them.

The formal presentations were followed by contributions by Anahit Bayandur

of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly; former minister of state Hrach Hakobian;

law professor Hrair Tovmasian; Mushegh Yekmalian of the OSCE Yerevan Office;

Derenik Demirchian High School principal Anahit Bakhshian; Alexander Butaev

of the National Democratic Union; MP Shavarsh Kocharian of the National

Democratic Party; Yerevan State University professor Aram Harutiunian;

Vahagn Khachatrian of the "Armat" center; Ruzanna Khachaturian of the People

's Party of Armenia; Artsrun Pepanian, political analyst for AR television;

Gayane Markosian of the Harmonious World NGO; National Press Club

chairperson Narine Mkrtchian; and several others.

ACNIS economic and diaspora affairs analyst Hovsep Khurshudian made summary

remarks. "We may deduce from many of the answers that the reestablishment of

values and traditions highly depends on the political system, and

particularly morality of the ruling elite. Therefore only fundamental,

system changes will lead to positive results," he concluded.

Founded in 1994 by Armenia's first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.

Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves

as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges

facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also

aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider

understanding of the new global environment. In 2004, the Center focuses

primarily on public outreach, civic education, and applied research on

critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.

 

For further information on the Center or the full graphics of the poll

results, call (3741) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (3741) 52-48-46; e-mail

root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am; or visit www.acnis.am or

http://www.acnis.am/pr/value/Socio06eng.pdf

[Armen]

Just bringin' it up.

[Armen]

Sasun jan, I wanted to post this " " in "As Ara sees it" thread after your last post but I'll post it here. Let's keep that place serious.

[Sasun]

Cool deal

 

P.S. Let's post like clowns in this thread instead

Edited July 31, 2004 by Sasun

[Armen]

Yeah, and if we keep posting them regularly we will manage to keep this poll afloat for long time