Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has rolled out his platform for Armenia’s political and economic transformation, emphasizing a need for citizens to develop a new understanding of patriotism and individual initiative.

In unveiling what he describes as the “Real Armenia” doctrine in a televised address to the nation on February 19, Pashinyan is attempting to draw a line on Armenia’s communist past, which featured a top-down system of decision-making, and give citizens agency over determining the future of the state. The doctrine likewise seeks to foster an entrepreneurial spirit to drive economic growth.

In addition, the Real Armenia doctrine strives to redefine the concept of nation and state to make Armenia more economically competitive in the 21st century. In attempting to do so, he is taking on a powerful constituency, comprising domestic critics and Diaspora groups, that vigorously support the concept of “historical Armenia,” or a homeland for Armenians that not only encompasses what is now the state of Armenia, but also includes areas now part of surrounding states, including Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Under the Real Armenia doctrine, patriotism should not be conflated with a desire to restore “historical Armenia.” To be a patriotic citizen is to focus energy on the development of the existing state, Pashinyan argues.

“The homeland is the state: if you love the homeland, strengthen the state!” begins the first point of the 14-point Real Armenia doctrine. “This ideology of Real Armenia identifies the homeland with the internationally recognized state – the Republic of Armenia – and patriotism with the interests of this state, the system of rights and obligations operating in it.”

Pashinyan’s doctrine also makes a distinction between the concept of a nation and that of a people. “A nation is an ethnic community not bound by a common political capacity, and a people is a community endowed with political capacity, having a common citizenship, that is, the people are the state-forming institution,” the doctrine states. Tangentially, it adds, that the “primary obligation” of citizens to the state is the payment of taxes.

The Real Armenia blueprint characterizes the state as the embodiment of an Armenian proverb; “Where there is bread, there is life.” It goes on to assert that the state’s central purpose is to facilitate citizens’ well-being and happiness. “Such a perception was alien to our reality, since for centuries the concepts of ‘homeland,’ ‘state’ and ‘bread’ were separated from each other,” the doctrine adds. “The peculiarity of this [Real Armenia] ideology is its practical approach, which consists in the fact that it puts a person and his/her needs at the center … and state policy should be aimed at providing a person with the necessary education, skills, abilities and knowledge, ensuring the development of human talent.”

The doctrine equates a strong state with a well-developed economy, driven by individual initiative. To help achieve this, the doctrine calls for far-reaching changes in the country’s education system aimed at fostering entrepreneurial attitudes. “The education system must teach the student the skills necessary for a prosperous life and happiness.”

In challenging long-held notions of nation, state and identity, Pashinyan tackles directly a deep-seated resistance to change held by many Armenians. A willingness to “change isn’t shameful, it’s vital,” the doctrine contends. “The individual and society and the state must deepen the skill of reflection at the genetic level.”

The same day as he introduced the Real Armenia doctrine, Pashinyan issued instructions to form an inter-governmental commission to revise the country’s National Security Strategy. The revision will take into account the demise of the country’s strategic partnership with Russia in recent years. At a February 20 press briefing, National Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan noted that the current version of the strategy dates to mid-2020, before the start of the Second Karabakh War.

The end game for Pashinyan is the adoption of a new constitution that enshrines the provisions contained in the Real Armenia doctrine. There is no telling how long that process will take, or whether it will even happen. Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan told journalists on February 20 that the government aims to have a draft of a new Constitution ready before parliamentary elections are held in 2026. The first step in the process is public debate, and the doctrine concludes with an appeal to readers to send comments and suggestions to an email address: [email protected]