Armenia's Constitutional Reforms: Changing Political Structure from Presidential to Parliamentary System

The present article looks into the change in the political structure in Armenia; from a presidential system to a parliamentary one. Following the adoption of constitutional reform in early December 2015, Armenia was the first country in the South Caucasus region to pursue such a shift, and in fact the second country in the Central Asian region after the Kyrgyz Republic's similar move in June 2010. Quite distinct from the Kyrgyz experience which occurred following a period of political turbulence, including the 2005 Tulip Revolution, the change in Armenia took place in a context of relative political stability and a generally functioning semi-democratic system without the regional hallmark of a 'president-for-life.' This article undertakes to study the historical background of this transformation in the backdrop of the long legacy of authoritarianism in Central Asia and Caucasus, both under the Tsarist and Communist eras, which led, in the immediate post-Soviet period, to the emergence of all-powerful presidents/executive branch in the entire region, inclusive of the Russian Federation itself, and in the new independent republics. The significance of Armenia's experience lies in the reasons and rationale for this important transformative change and what it portends for the long-term future development of the country itself, in its domestic situation as well as in its external relations, and on a larger scale for the bigger surrounding region. This important change in Armenia, Iran's sole Christian neighbor, also happens to be of interest to Iranian academics and analysts – also addressed in the latter part of the study.