Nareg Seferian - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Book by Nareg Seferian

Impact of An Ancient Nation: Bridging the Past, Present, and Future with 100+ Facts About Armenia and Armenians

Impact of an Ancient Nation speaks deeply to those who take pride in and continue to celebrate th... more Impact of an Ancient Nation speaks deeply to those who take pride in and continue to celebrate the Armenian heritage. From building the first coffee shops in Europe to building the longest aerial tramway in the world, from leading the global trade routes in the middle ages to leading the global chess rankings in modern times, Armenians carry a rich culture that has had a lasting impact on humanity.

Impact of an Ancient Nation was the recipient of the International Rubery Book Award for Non-Fiction in 2017.

Book Reviews by Nareg Seferian

The Armenian Review, 2023

In the preface to Among the Ruins, published in 1911, Zabelle Yessayan (Zabel Yesayan) notes that... more In the preface to Among the Ruins, published in 1911, Zabelle Yessayan (Zabel Yesayan) notes that, "Once again the vein of the tribe was opened, and once again our blood-still beating with the joy of newly-emerging Liberty-was spilled upon soil made fruitful by our sweat. " In the summer of 1909, Yessayan had been part of a group of Armenian relief workers sent to Adana, a hub in the historical region of Cilicia (Çukurova) on the Mediterranean coast, comprising a mix of ethno-national and religious populations in an Ottoman Empire on the cusp of major changes. Over the course of two waves at the end of April that year, more than 20,000 Armenians and other Christians and around 2,000 Muslims were massacred in and around the city and province. The Horrors of Adana: Revolution and Violence in the Early Twentieth Century by Bedross Der Matossian (Stanford University Press, 2022) recounts the story of the massacres, their lead-up, and aftermath. Der Matossian is a scholar of the Middle East with a focus on inter-ethnic relations, the Armenian Genocide, and Palestinian history. He serves on the faculty of the Department of History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The book is a multidisciplinary study of a complex episode drawing from a variety of sources. Der Matossian relies on a few key factors for understanding what happened in and around Adana in 1909. He situates the events within the context of the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 and the counter-revolution of 1909. He looks to the "public sphere"-rather, multiple and competing media and other spaces of discourse, both within and outside of the empire, which shaped

Research, Analysis, Papers by Nareg Seferian

This work examines the forced deportation of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh (also known as Artsa... more This work examines the forced deportation of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh (also known as Artsakh in Armenian) by Azerbaijan, defining it as ethnic cleansing. Drawing on Freedom House’s comprehensive report on the topic, and the resolution passed by the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) on Nagorno-Karabakh on September 20241, we conclude that Azerbaijan’s systematic attacks, forced displacement, and destruction of cultural heritage are elements of a premeditated campaign to expel Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnic Armenians that triggers international legal obligations, including a sustainable right of return. It brings together perspectives from Armenian and international experts in political science and human rights law to analyze the historical, legal, and geopolitical dimensions of the crisis. The paper discusses the Armenian presence in the region from antiquity to the establishment of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast under Soviet rule, the independence movement, and subsequent wars, focusing on the 2020 and 2023 conflicts.

The international response, including statements from the EU, UN, and ICJ, highlights the obligation to ensure safe repatriation and the protection of Armenian rights and cultural heritage. It underscores key violations of international law, including breaches of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ICCPR, and Geneva Conventions, and advocates for accountability in international legal forums.

The paper offers actionable recommendations for the United States government to support the right of return, including securing international guarantees, advocating for the preservation of Armenian cultural sites, and holding Azerbaijani officials accountable for war crimes. It emphasizes the necessity of sustained international engagement, legal mechanisms, and Armenian government support to ensure the dignity, security, and cultural legacy of the displaced ethnic Armenians, laying the groundwork for a just resolution and enduring peace in the region.

Caucasus Analytical Digest, 2024

This paper discusses the relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Ir... more This paper discusses the relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran across three inter-related dimensions: first, the presence of the prominent Armenian community in Iran; second, economic ties between the two countries; and third, the role of Tehran within regional political dynamics. It is the lattermost point which has seen substantial shifts since the end of the Second Karabakh War in 2020, especially with the shared perceived threats arising from the prospect of a ‘Zangezour/Zangezur Corridor’ connecting mainland Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhchivan/Nakhichevan. In this context, the foreign policy orientations in Yerevan mainly directed towards Moscow have been shattered as a result of the war and its aftermath. Relations with Tehran, by contrast, have remained steady, developing as one of many in a complex of factors both in Armenia’s re-pivoting and the ongoing changes to geopolitical power structures in the South Caucasus.

The file also contains the introduction to this edition of Caucasus Analytical Digest - No. 136, February, 2024.

What is the relationship between discourse and power? Once an issue makes it to the agenda, how d... more What is the relationship between discourse and power? Once an issue makes it to the agenda, how do its framing and the specific terms used to discuss it influence policy outcomes? This paper will attempt at providing an overview of how discourse relates to power dynamics in international affairs by taking up in particular the concept of the responsibility to protect or “R2P” and how discourse on intervention preceding it shifted in the 20th century

The principle of academic freedom may appear on the surface to offer a carte blanche for all matt... more The principle of academic freedom may appear on the surface to offer a carte blanche for all matters of scholarly pursuit, whether to instructors or students, and perhaps even to university administrators. There are a few key questions around which that principle hinges. This essay will take up some of them by investigating the history of the development of Armenian Studies and Turkish Studies in the United States and the controversies that have arisen within and across those disciplines.

This brief study will first discuss conceptual approaches to understanding social movements drawn... more This brief study will first discuss conceptual approaches to understanding social movements drawn from Tilly and Tarrow (2015) and Steinberg (1998). The two cases of the Mashtots Park protests in Armenia in 2012 and the Gezi Park protests in Turkey in 2013 will then be outlined. The discussion section that follows will compare and contrast how contentious politics over public space in those two urban centres played out. Included among the sources for the discussion are two interviews with first-hand observers and participants. Finally, concluding thoughts on the causes and consequences of Mashtots and Gezi will be fleshed out in detail.

It is difficult to give a single, accurate name to the debates and tensions between the Turkish a... more It is difficult to give a single, accurate name to the debates and tensions between the Turkish and Armenian peoples. Calling it “The Armenian Question” is quite outdated; one might offer equal justification in calling it “The Turkish Question.” Simply pointing out where the issue lies and what is at stake can be problematic. Are there disputed territories under consideration? Is there control of natural resources to be fought over? Issues of money or property? Diplomatic rows? Commercial ties? Legal cases? Moral or ethical concerns? All of the above may or may not apply. Even the actors of this phenomenon are not always fully clear. Two states exist on the world map today—the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Armenia. But this is not a classic inter-state disagreement. There are individual Armenians and groups outside of Armenia—the Armenian Diasporae—including an Armenian population within Turkey itself, all of which can claim a voice, to say nothing of other voices within broader Turkish society. There are also Turkish communities outside of Turkey (though not in Armenia). Sometimes the more classic dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh draws in another Armenian population as well as a third state, the Republic of Azerbaijan, into the mix. Regional powers and global hegemons are never far behind. This is a complex case. The present study aims at tackling the issue in a broad manner through the prism of narrative. (May, 2017)

The United States offers a very interesting context to explore issues of identity at multiple lev... more The United States offers a very interesting context to explore issues of identity at multiple levels. It is a diverse society that promotes a sense of citizenship while at the same time largely allowing for the practices of pre-immigration cultures. The Armenian-American story is fascinating that way. “Armenian-American” has become much more defined as an identity over the past few decades, comprised of many traditional Armenian elements accommodated within and shaped by the American environment that surrounds them.

That was not always the case. For most of the 20th century, assimilation was the name of the game. In that light, the memoirs to be reviewed in this study consider two individuals who were born into families in which the Armenian heritage was secondary or outright discouraged and who came of age in that 20th-century America. The two somehow encounter and connect with their Armenian identities later on in life. Passage to Ararat by Michael Arlen, Jr. was published in 1975 and Peter Balakian’s Black Dog of Fate came out in 1997. Each published his text at almost exactly the same age, in their mid-forties, having about one generation between them, capturing somewhat different historical moments in terms of Armenia and the Armenian people. (October, 2016)

Traditional bilateral relations with on-the-ground embassies continue to remain a mainstay in int... more Traditional bilateral relations with on-the-ground embassies continue to remain a mainstay in intergovernmental affairs. This paper proposes a quantitative approach to measuring the diplomatic activity of States on the basis of the ratio of resident embassies sent to resident embassies received. Resident Representation Ratio, or 3R, offers a quick and simple comparative index. This paper further carries out a 3R comparison among the P5 alongside three States in the South Caucasus. It is found that, despite having the greatest absolute numbers, the United States has the lowest proportion of sent embassies to received embassies, similar to the United Kingdom. France, Russia, and China have a higher 3R index, closer in number. France has slightly more embassies sent than received. In the South Caucasus, Georgia displays the highest proportion, even though Azerbaijan has the greatest absolute numbers. Armenia has the lowest absolute numbers, but second-highest 3R index overall. (December, 2015)

Turkish Review, 2015

This article outlines the manifestations of Armenian advocacy and Turkish reactions since the 196... more This article outlines the manifestations of Armenian advocacy and Turkish reactions since the 1960s and how they have developed and found new expressions, changing their emphases. (April, 2015)

The end of the 18th century was an innovative era in terms of political organisation. The revolut... more The end of the 18th century was an innovative era in terms of political organisation. The revolutions in the United States and in France, as well as such less enduring movements as the Polish Constitution, were echoed halfway across the world in Madras, India (modern Chennai), where a small but wealthy and active community of Armenians expressed ambitious plans for a future Armenian state. Although those plans did not come to fruition, the Vorogayt Parats-Nshavak reflects the Western discourse inspired by Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and others, refracted not just through an Armenian lens alone, but the specific perspective of Persian-Armenian merchants in India – a country quickly coming under the British yoke, alongside the presence of other European powers, such as the French and Portuguese. Meanwhile, after about a decade of an inefficient arrangement under the Articles of Confederation, the US Constitution tried to bring together “a more perfect Union” for its part, marrying the ideological drive of the Declaration of Independence to practical considerations of the day-to-day affairs of running a country.

This paper will examine the Vorogayt Parats-Nshavak in light of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. It presumes familiarity on the part of the reader with the latter, American documents. It will first discuss the texts of the Vorogayt Parats and the Nshavak, including some analysis, followed by a comparison with the two founding documents of the United States in terms of the conceptions of statehood and in other details. Additionally, the problems of the authorship of the Vorogayt Parats-Nshavak will be taken up, as will its dating, and the designations of the documents in question. (October, 2014)

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the relations between the Armenians and the Turks... more After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the relations between the Armenians and the Turks entered a new phase with the establishment of an independent Republic of Armenia. The inter-state interactions that followed took place in a context that also included regional players, the international community, as well as the organised Armenian Diaspora. This thesis argues that the difficulty to come to a lasting regional peace can be explained by (1) the relative weakness on the part of the Armenian state vis-à-vis Turkey, as well as (2) the unstable domestic political situation in Turkey in the 1990s coupled with the ineffective foreign policy of the AKP government in power in Ankara since 2002. A few schools of international relations theory are employed to assess the relationship: realism, liberalism, institutionalism, geopolitics, and constructivism. Given the differences in power and interests of the two states, the resulting asymmetrical relations are best explained using a constructivist approach, which helps shape a concluding section on the national psychology that underlies the interaction between Armenians and Turks, including narratives of identity and how they inform policy. The thesis concludes that, as a complex issue, with the involvement of the United States, the international community, and even with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict not too far removed, and also with neither the Republic of Armenia nor the Armenian Diaspora having enough clout to shift policy one way or another, Turkey remains the factor with the greatest potential to influence proceedings. It is domestic political considerations and the consequential unclear positions and self-contradictory actions on the part of Ankara that have gone the farthest to maintain the instability and anti-climaxes characteristic of the Armenia-Turkey story between 1991 and 2010. And therefore it will be changes within Turkey itself that will bear the greatest consequences for the future of Armenia-Turkey relations. (June, 2013)

The foundation of the United States of America is one of the most remarkable events in human hist... more The foundation of the United States of America is one of the most remarkable events in human history. States have been established and have perished since time immemorial, but there are a number of unique elements to the story of America. What allows a people to declare themselves sovereign? What justifies a people in asserting their right to revolt? Where would such a right come from in the first place?

This paper initially deals with the Declaration of Independence as it stands by itself. It next explores the philosophical influences on the thinking that went into it, drawing from John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. The end of government per se is taken up very superficially, inasmuch as the issue is dealt with in the Declaration and the Second Treatise. Issues dealing with the maintenance of regimes also lie mostly beyond the scope of this paper. What is relevant and what is being particularly gleaned from the texts are insights into the right to revolt and secede – the right to proclaim sovereignty as portrayed in the Declaration and the philosophical basis which provides for such a right as discussed in the Second Treatise.

The final section of this paper offers concluding thoughts and speculations on political philosophy and various aspects of statehood, in particular the problem of legitimacy and legality as viewed from these two texts. (February, 2011)

Videos by Nareg Seferian

Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict - Overview, Analysis, Resources

A video offering an overview of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict alongside some analysis and suggest... more A video offering an overview of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict alongside some analysis and suggested resources

Հայոց լեզու. ուղղագրութեան աւանդական, մեսրոպեան, դասական, հայկազեան համակարգ

A video in Eastern Armenian on classical or traditional orthography

Sources, Citation, APA Style: A Brief Introduction

A short video outlining some basics on references in academic writing, especially APA style

Արեւմտահայերէն, Արեւելահայերէն՝ հնչիւններու, ձայներու տարբերութիւնները

A video in Western Armenian on the regular differences in pronunciation between Western Armenian ... more A video in Western Armenian on the regular differences in pronunciation between Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian

Արեւելահայերեն, Արեւմտահայերեն՝ հնչյունների, ձայների տարբերությունները

A video in Eastern Armenian on the regular differences in pronunciation between Western Armenian ... more A video in Eastern Armenian on the regular differences in pronunciation between Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian

Western Armenian & Eastern Armenian - Pronunciation Differences

A video in English on the regular differences in pronunciation between Western Armenian and Easte... more A video in English on the regular differences in pronunciation between Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian