<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Washington-based International Republican Institute\u2019s public opinion poll, conducted November 22-December 5, 2021, measured the Armenian population\u2019s views on political, economic, and security issues. The survey was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The poll revealed a key finding: 46% of the population thinks that \u201cArmenia is headed in the wrong direction,\u201d while only 34% thinks that the country is headed in \u201cthe right direction.\u201d This indicates that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan\u2019s often-repeated boast that he enjoys \u201cthe people\u2019s mandate\u201d is not necessarily so. This is a significant shift from the 54% of the votes the Prime Minister\u2019s political party received in the June 20, 2021 parliamentary elections. More importantly, the number of those who think that Armenia is headed in the wrong direction increased from 20% in May 21, 2021 to 34% in July 2021 and 46% in December 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, on another important question, \u201cDo you believe that you or people like you can influence decisions made in our country,\u201d 66% said yes, while 33% said no. This is definitely a positive indication for the authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next question: \u201cAre you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way democracy is developing in our country?\u201d the country was almost evenly split: 51% yes and 47% no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To the question: \u201cDo you consider our country to be governed in the interest of the majority of people or in the interest of some groups?\u201d 61% said it was governed in the interest of \u201csome groups,\u201d while only 31% said it was governed in the interest of \u201cthe majority.\u201d This reflects negatively on the current government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the positive side, 66% of the people surveyed said they are \u201cnot afraid of openly expressing their opinions,\u201d while 31% said they were afraid to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To the question: \u201cHow satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the work of the following state bodies?\u201d the top approval was given to Pashinyan government’s frequent critic, Human Rights Defender\u2019s (Ombudsman\u2019s) office (68% satisfied vs. 25% dissatisfied); the police (68% vs. 29%); local governments (63% vs. 33%); armed forces (58% vs. 37%); Central Electoral Commission (57% vs. 33%); and National Security Service (50% vs. 41%). The Prime Minister\u2019s office came in 7th place with 49% satisfied vs. 48% dissatisfied. The Armenian Parliament came in 16th place with 31% satisfied and a whopping 67% dissatisfied. This is not surprising as the parliament\u2019s televised sessions frequently show scenes of shouting matches, insults, and physical altercations ending with abrupt orders by the parliament\u2019s leadership representing the Prime Minister\u2019s political party to turn off the TV cameras to hide the disorderly conduct of the rowdy parliamentarians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turning to foreign policy issues, those surveyed ranked France on top with 92% as having the best relationship with Armenia. Then came Iran (80%); the United States (77%); China (75%); European Union (69%); Russia (64%); Georgia (58%); UK (47%); other (10%); Turkey (5%); and Azerbaijan at the very bottom with 3%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked \u201cWhich two countries were the most important political partners for Armenia?\u201d Russia (57%); France (50%); the U.S. (38%); Iran (23%); European Union (5%); China (5%); Georgia (3%); and India (1%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to \u201cWhich two countries are the most important economic partners of Armenia?\u201d Russia again came first with 61%; Iran (40%); (China (29%); the U.S. (16%); France (14%); Georgia (8%); European Union (7%); India (2%); and Turkey (2%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked \u201cWhich 2 countries are the most important security partners for Armenia?\u201d the answers were: Russia (64%); France (32%); Iran (31%); the U.S. (26%); European Union (5%); China (4%); Georgia (2%); and India (1%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhich 2 countries are the greatest political threat to Armenia?\u201d The survey respondents said: Turkey (90%); Azerbaijan (77%); Russia (15%); UK (3%); Israel (2%); the U.S, (2%); and Georgia (1%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhich 2 countries are the biggest economic threat to Armenia?\u201d Survey respondents said: Turkey (68%); Azerbaijan (52%); Russia (17%); Georgia (10%); Iran (4%); the U.S. (1%); China (1%); and European Union (1%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhich 2 countries are the greatest security threat to Armenia?\u201d Survey respondents said: Turkey (88%); Azerbaijan (81%); Russia (11%); Iran (2%); the U.S. (2%); Israel (2%); Georgia (1%); France (1%); and UK (1%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe relationship with which 2 countries needs to be improved for the development of Armenia?\u201d The survey respondents said: Russia (53%); the U.S. (35%); Iran (29%); France (25%); China (15%); European Union (9%); Georgia (7%); Turkey (5%); Azerbaijan (4%); India (1%); and UK (1%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The survey then asked if the respondents agreed or disagreed with the following three questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) 73% agreed and 25% disagreed that \u201cArmenia should start a dialog with Turkey and normalize bilateral relations, while pursuing the agenda of recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2) 70% agreed and 27% disagreed that \u201cArmenia must establish bilateral relations with Turkey by putting forward its own preconditions such as Turkey\u2019s non-hindrance of peace in Artsakh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3) 44% agreed and 53% disagreed that \u201cUnder no circumstances Armenia should pursue normalization of relations with Turkey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most survey respondents disagreed with Pashinyan that opening roads with Azerbaijan is beneficial to Armenia. When asked: \u201cHow will the opening of transport routes with Azerbaijan impact Armenia’s economic development?\u201d 27% gave a positive answer; 59% negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same is true for Turkey. When asked: \u201cHow will the opening of transport routes with Turkey impact Armenia\u2019s economic development?\u201d 35% gave a positive answer; 53% negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked: \u201cHow important is the resolution to the Artsakh conflict for the future of Armenia in the next 10 years?\u201d The overwhelming 96 % said \u201cimportant\u201d; 3% \u201cunimportant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The survey asked: \u201cWhat would be an acceptable solution of the Artsakh conflict?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
— 35% said: \u201cRecognition of Artsakh as an independent state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
— 34% said: \u201cThe unification of Artsakh with Armenia as a region of the Republic of Armenia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
— 16% said: \u201cEstablishment of the status of the Artsakh Autonomous Region within Armenia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
— 11% said: \u201cEstablishment of the status of Artsakh within Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
— 1% said: \u201cMaintaining the current status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked: \u201cIs Armenia able to independently defend its borders with Azerbaijan, without the help of any other country?\u201d 46% said yes; 53% no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, when asked: \u201cWhich country would you prefer to assist Armenia in defending its borders?\u201d 47% said Russia; the U.S. (18%); France (14%); Iran (8%); China (2%); European Union (1%); all three Minsk Group countries of Russia, the U.S., France (1%); and NATO (1%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether we agree or disagree, these are the answers that the people of Armenia gave. It reflects their current mindset.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Washington-based International Republican Institute\u2019s public opinion poll, conducted November 22-December 5, 2021, measured the Armenian population\u2019s views on political, economic, and security issues. The survey was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The poll revealed a key finding: 46% of the population thinks that \u201cArmenia is headed in the wrong direction,\u201d while […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4101,"featured_media":774085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3488],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-746937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-harut-sassounian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=746937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/774085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=746937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=746937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=746937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}