ARMENIA: INCREASING POLITICAL CONTROL, NATIONALIST PRESSURES, AND MINORITY VULNERABILITY, 2025–2026
Igor Kotler
Armenia entered the second half of 2025 and the 2026 parliamentary election period amid growing political polarization, increasingly confrontational relations between the government and its opponents, tension between the state and the Armenian Apostolic Church, concerns regarding selective law enforcement, continuing allegations of police abuse, and a public environment increasingly affected by hostile political rhetoric and nationalism.
Although, elections continue to take place, opposition parties operate, and civil society organizations continue to criticize the government, but with some reservations. Nevertheless, these formal characteristics should not obscure a significant deterioration in important elements of democratic governance. Freedom House continues to identify Armenia as a “Transitional or Hybrid Regime,” while international election observers in 2026 documented unequal campaign opportunities, a concentration of criminal proceedings against opposition candidates and activists, and pressure on public-sector employees to participate in ruling-party events.
