L’objectif de cette thèse est de souligner les spécificités de la région du Lori et de déterminer les bases théoriques et pratiques du développement d’un tourisme respectueux, durable et décentralisé permettant la réhabilitation et la conservation du patrimoine monumental.La première partie analyse la géographie, l’histoire médiévale et les dynasties arméniennes à l’origine de l’âge d’or de cette région du nord de l’Arménie. Notre étude du patrimoine monumental est centrée sur le monastère arméno-chalcédonien d’Akhtala, source de curiosités et de polémiques, très controversé, toujours considéré comme patrimoine géorgien et donc réclamé par la Géorgie. Cette partie permet de constater que la richesse essentielle du Lori est son patrimoine médiéval, marqué par l’influence d’autres courants architecturaux et confessionnels que ceux de l’Église Apostolique [orthodoxe] Arménienne, en raison de à sa situation géographique et à son attachement administratif et politique, à plusieurs reprise, à la Géorgie.Pour comprendre les aspects touristiques, la deuxième partie retrace, dans la mesure du possible, l’histoire du développement touristique en R.S.S. d’Arménie et après l’indépendance en 1991, soulignant les potentiels et les handicaps de ce secteur, analysant les projets d’État ainsi que les textes juridiques relatifs au tourisme, à l’utilisation des monuments historiques, ou encore à la classification des établissements d’hébergement touristique.Enfin, la troisième partie présente les possibles plan d’actions à mettre en œuvre dans le Lori, mobilisant les ONG locales et étrangères en partenariat avec les acteurs et les collectivités territoriales arméniennes et européennes. Cette partie vise à montrer comment le tourisme peut concrètement être mobilisé comme instrument de mise en valeur du patrimoine monumental, facteur de création d’emplois dans les villages, de stabilisation économique, ainsi que d’aménagement de territoire et de développement local / The purpose of this study is to underline the specificities of Lori region and determine practical and theory bases to develop responsible travel, sustainable and decentralized tourism that helps rehabilitation and protection of cultural and historical heritage sites.The first part analyses the geography, the medieval history and the Armenian dynasties that created the golden era of this region located at the north of Armenia. Our study of Armenian heritage is dedicated to the Armenian-chalcedonian monastery of Akhtala, source of curiosities, polemics and controversies, considered Georgian monument and demanded by them. This part of thesis helps us to notice that the most important attraction of Lori is his medieval monuments that carry non Armenian Orthodox Church architectural and confessional influences, because of its geographic location and repeated attachment to Georgia.To understand Armenia’s and Lori’s tourism aspects, the second part trace, as long as possible, the history of tourism development in S.S.R. Armenia and after its independence in 1991. Our research continue to highlight potentials and disadvantages of tourism, analyzing state projects and law texts relative to tourism, exploitation of historical monuments or classification of tourist accommodation establishments.At last, the third part presents possible action plans in Lori, mobilizing local and foreign ONGs in partnership with Armenian and Europeans territorial administrations. This last part aims to show how tourism can be a tool to revalorize heritage monuments, an instrument of economic stabilization, local planning and development and job creation in rural areas

Tuberculosis (TB) is a deadly, yet curable, infectious disease that continues to be a global health threat. Armenia suffers from rising TB incidence and mortality rates. Armenians living in Los Angeles (LA) County, where TB incidence is higher than national averages, is the second largest Armenian community in the world; therefore implications are that many TB cases are attributed to this group. Using the social ecological model as a theoretical framework, this concurrent, mixed-methods study compared Armenians to non-Armenians in LA County about their knowledge of TB and perceived barriers to seeking and adhering to treatment. Bivariate chi-square analysis from online surveys of 55 Armenians and 72 non-Armenians revealed significant differences in their source of TB knowledge and compliance upon diagnosis. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was completed using the following significant predictor factors: classification, home remedy use, age, education, and primary household language. Parallel, in-depth interviews of 10 Armenians and 8 non-Armenians further corroborated that, although both populations were aware that TB exists, knowledge relating to TB mode of transmission, global incidence, and treatment options was generally lacking. However, the Armenian population was more eager to help others and urge seeking treatment when receiving a positive diagnosis, whereas non-Armenians expressed lack of willingness to physically assist patients. These findings have implications for positive social change, as they can inform the efforts of public health and health care entities in more effective disease management, resource allocation, and patient care. Such efforts should help decrease TB prevalence in the U. S. Armenian population and potentially Armenia.

This article looks at contemporary Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan and addresses the question of how these states, which suffer from considerable institutional weaknesses, nevertheless retain the ability to control key aspects of statehood, first of all security and a measure of central authority. It is argued that these states invest only in selected aspects of statehood. The needed resources are mobilized by a system of informal taxes, which are then invested in certain selected core functions of statehood. This form of state depends on both formal and informal institutions, which are mutually supportive.

This thesis aims to analyze the re-emergence of the Armenian question as an aspect of Armenian nationalism and its effects on Turkey between the years 1960 and 1990. The Armenian question is a very controversial political issue with its multi-dimensional characteristic. The Armenian question emerged with the Ottoman Armenians&rsquo / autonomy demands as an extension of Armenian nationalism in the nineteenth century. With the interest of the imperialist states, the Armenian question became an international problem especially after the Ottoman-Russian War of 1877-1878. Although the Armenian question reached its peak in World War I, it dropped from the international agenda by the Peace Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. After World War II, the Armenian question was transformed into an international issue once again by Joseph Stalin the leader of the USSR that was used as a political trump against Turkey in the Cold War period. Especially, the date April 24, 1965 became a remarkable turning point in the re-emergence of the Armenian question as an aspect of Armenian nationalism. Since 1965, the Armenian Diaspora has used the Armenian question to materialize dream of the &ldquo / Greater Armenia.&rdquo / Today, the Armenian question has affected Turkey&rsquo / s bilateral and multilateral relations with other countries especially with the Republic of Armenia and the United States of America. By this thesis, these whole facts will be analyzed to expose the historical background of the re-emergence of the Armenian question as an aspect of Armenian nationalism, and its effects on Turkey between the years 1960-1990, and to contribute to the academic literature.

This thesis seeks to analyze the nature of relations between Armenia and Russia in the 2000s. Contrary to the dominant view that relations between these two countries could be labeled as strategic partnership, this thesis argues that these relations could be characterized as pragmatic cooperation. In fact, both countries having close relations in all fields and refraining from pursuing policies that might harm the other&rsquo / s interests in the 1990s, gave priority to their own national interests in the diplomatic and economic fields in the 2000s, while maintaining close cooperation in the security field. In the 2000s, Russia started to pursue a pragmatic foreign policy by improving its relations with Azerbaijan that has rich oil and natural gas reserves. Likewise, Armenia has also started to pursue a balanced foreign policy by enhancing its cooperation with the Western countries and international organizations in diplomatic and security fields in the same period. Moreover, Armenia also deepened its cooperation with Iran in the energy sector to decrease its energy dependence on Russia. Consequently, both Armenia and Russia have started to pursue pragmatic policies in diplomatic and economic fields to maximize their own national interests while maintaining close cooperation in security field. Therefore, bilateral relations between these two countries started to take more pragmatic character than a strategic partnership.

The EU, over time, has garnered international recognition and acclaim as a successful agent of democratisation in third countries. The transitions of Greece, Spain and Portugal in the 1980s coupled with the recent Eastern enlargements of the EU into erstwhile communist space attest to the success of the EU in fostering tangible democratisation. However, as the EU rapidly approaches its institutional capacity, questions remain as to its viability as an agent of democratisation in the post-enlargement setting where the EU can no longer offer full membership as an incentive for political and economic reform. This thesis attempts to examine the viability of the EU as a democratic facilitator in the post-enlargement setting, through examination of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), a policy described by the EU as ‘everything but institutions’. Two mechanisms of normative transfer relative to the ENP were identified in the literature: conditionality, where the EU attaches incentives for successful political and economic reform, and socialisation, a newer notion whereby norms are transferred via interaction through generating close links with domestic actors. It was ascertained that in the context of the ENP, socialisation represented the dominant mechanism for normative change; conditionality was still utilised as a mechanism, however its scope had reduced greatly. To illuminate the phenomenon of EU democratic promotion, the case study of Armenia was chosen, a small but politically intriguing state in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood which had experienced (as is the case with the majority of post-Soviet states) stagnation and regression of the democratisation process since independence. Two facets of the EU’s democratisation strategy inherent in the ENP were chosen as empirical research areas: free and fair elections and interaction with domestic civil society organisations (CSOs). Free and fair elections offered evaluation of the conditionality aspects of the ENP through examining the 2008 Armenian presidential election. Interaction with domestic Armenian CSOs presented a rich phenomenon to examine the impact of socialisation in the ENP through utilising a case study examining four democratically minded NGOs. Ultimately, this thesis contends that through the ENP, the EU can no longer effectively wield conditionality as a viable mechanism of normative change and currently lacks the tools or a suitable environment to initialise normative transfers through socialisation. Consequently, it is argued that the EU has had little effect in facilitating democratisation in Armenia since the advent of the ENP.

Nous proposons une appréhension conjointe de la royauté dans ces trois royaumes de l’Orient chrétien, établis respectivement à la fin des XIe et XIIe siècles, ce qui constitue une approche historique et anthropologique inédite. Ces royaumes partagent l’originalité de situations de fondation ou de refondation qui permettent d’envisager non seulement les cadres structurels mais surtout le substrat théorique qui sous-entend la construction étatique. Dans les cas que nous étudions, cela se traduit par le choix, non automatique et donc réfléchi, d’une forme de gouvernement par l’instauration d’une royauté. Nous nous interrogeons sur son unicité, la solidité de ses structures et finalement son caractère dynamique puisqu’elle s’articule sur une communauté actrice de sa fondation, de sa délégation et de son exercice même. Et ces royautés s’établissent sur des espaces nouveaux qui nécessitent des territorialisations dont les aspects symboliques sont remarquables et plus prégnants que les réalités parfois altérées.À partir d’un large corpus de documents, notre analyse est fondée sur la notion de représentation qui induit un processus de diffusion, d’acceptation et révèle la malléabilité du concept de royauté intrinsèquement lié à des éléments de dynamiques internes et externes. La royauté s’avère alors avant tout interactive, fondée sur un faisceau de légitimités concourantes plus que concurrentes, renvoyant à ses dimensions plurielles. Les parts collectives et personnelles s’imbriquent, supposant un pouvoir plus partagé que délégué avec une diversité d’acteurs. / We propose a joint apprehension of those three kingdoms in Christian East, which is an original historical and anthropological analysis. Those kingdoms share the original aspect of being state’s foundation, so we consider the structural and theoretical frameworks which underlie the state construction. In those cases it appears that the choice of a kingship as a government way in conscious and well-considered. We wonder about its uniqueness and its dynamics because this kingship is built by an active community of the constituents of the kingdoms which work for its foundation, its exercise and its delegation. These kingships settle in new spaces which need to be characterized and present symbolic aspects in link with the Holy land. From a wide corpus of documents, we analyze the concept of representation: the process of acceptance of power with its ways and supports of diffusion, its contents, particularly how they are defined by the actors of kingship themselves in order to justify the mediating and eminent position of the king.

The thesis deals with the description and analysis of the various forms of relations between the Republic of Venice and the Kingdom of Cilicia in the period 1199-1175, during the existence of the kingdom. In introduction it provides a brief overview of the historical development of both states, with emphasis on common developmental stages in the mentioned period. The core analyzes primary sources of narrative and official character which reflect the relations of both states.

The current forced displacement crisis, with over 65 million people in 2017, and more than a third being refugees, means it is higher than since the Second World War. Therefore, integration of external forced migrants (refugees) in host countries is a high priority policy objective of the international community. Yet, the existing refugee regime largely fails in successful integration, including in cases of resettling in perceived ethnic homelands. This thesis comparatively analyses the integration process of Syrian- Armenian forced migrants in the perceived ethnic homeland, Armenia and unrecognised territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, and a regional diaspora centre, Lebanon. The work aims to understand socio-cultural and economic factor impact on the process, and whether some can be regarded as fundamental for the successful outcomes, the role of state and non-state actors in the process, and influence of the psychological state of mind of forced migrants on it. The selection of case studies is ideal for several reasons. First, institutionally, a host-community (the Republic of Armenia and the Lebanese-Armenian diaspora) is interested in newcomers remaining in the country. Second, NGOs play a central role, thus, due to their decades of experience, allowing to facilitate advanced methods of integration. Third, Armenians integrate into their ethnic kin community, thus arguably improving integration chances. Finally, Armenians have been historically skillful in new societal integration, which bodes well for future successful integration. The analysis applies the theoretical framework of migration, diaspora and social identity to empirical findings from fieldwork, state and NGO reports and media information. The key argument of the thesis is that although all factors of integration are closely interrelated, economic integration should be perceived as a defining factor in the overall success. Additionally, I argue that, where problematic economic integration is experienced, cultural differences against the host-society and sense of nostalgia become reinforced, thus slowing integration. Finally, whilst I conclude that economic integration generally improves over time, it is likely that where host-society culture is significantly different, newcomers generally remain a distinctive community, even if within an ethnic homeland.

abstract: Social determinants of health present significant barriers to utilization of maternal health services in transitional countries. This dissertation study examined associations between household autonomy and utilization of prenatal services among women of reproductive age in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Using nationally representative survey data, this study explored if household autonomy of women positively influenced the timing of the first prenatal visit, the number of prenatal care visits, and the content of care during visits. Results showed that household autonomy was positively associated with the timing of the first visit for prenatal care and the number of prenatal care visits. The content of care was negatively associated with the autonomy of women. Findings also pointed to an endogenous influence of a woman's position in the household structure. Additionally, this study analyzed associations between women's reproductive history and utilization, and economic disparities in utilization of prenatal care. The findings demonstrated that a history of complications during pregnancy and stillbirths were positively associated with utilization of prenatal care. Economic disparities in utilization of care were identified. Future interventions to increase utilization of maternal health services should account for traditional household structures in transitional countries. Women from poor families should receive support from social assistance and the health sector in accessing services pertaining to their health and well-being. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Social Work 2015