Armenian National Identity
With the potential for international relations only climbing in our technological era, the idea of a nation is increasingly important to understand. Nationalist ideologies have been on the rise for several decades, bringing the associated risk of international conflict. This calls to question the root of such nationalism. Here, I will be discussing national identity and how it can be recognized in the nation of Armenia.
What is National Identity?
National identity is a combination of symbols, values, and history that a country holds as a method of defining itself and separating it from other nations, or as defined by Anthony Smith (1991, p. 73), the “ideological movement for attaining and maintaining autonomy, unity and identity on behalf of a population deemed by some of its members to constitute an actual or potential nation.” This identity, however, will rarely (if ever) be nuanced enough to capture the likeness of all members. As a result, certain minority identities are erased and the end result is an oversimplification of the nation’s history and people. National identity is the driving force of nationalist ideologies, as members feel deeply prideful of their own nation and are threatened by others.
What is an “Other”?
As defined by Anna Triandafyllidou, a “significant other” is an entity that challenges the identity of a nation and helps to define the nation’s identity by signifying what the nation is not (1998, p. 599). In this investigation into Armenia’s identity, two main categories of significant others will be considered: external territorial rival nations, and an external dominant nation. The first type of significant other is a neighboring nation with which territories/borders are disputed, while the second is a dominant nation of a multinational state of which both nations are members. Nations often attempt to distinguish themselves from an external territorial rival by laying claim to disputed land, while with external dominant nations, they will emphasize any differences they have.
Historical Context
As Armenia’s history has time and time again been subjected to massacres and genocides, territorial disputes, and Soviet control, the lines between the identity of its own nation and others can often be blurred. Even still, Armenia has developed and is developing an individual sense of its national identity.
The Armenian Genocide
Though Armenia only recently gained independence in September of 1991, its history dates much farther back. However, I will be focusing on the last 110 years or so, beginning with the Armenian Genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire during the first World War. This genocide was carried out to destroy the identity of the Armenian ethnic minority in Ottoman Turkey (Yale University). It’s estimated that as many as one million Armenians were killed, and an additional unknown number lost their Armenian culture and instead assimilated with Turkish Ottoman practices.
Conflict with Azerbaijan
The genocide was closely followed by Armenia’s declaration of independence from Russia in May of 1918 after the fall of the Russian Empire (Karabakh: 1918-1921, 2023). Armenia’s neighbor, Azerbaijan, laid claim to territories that were largely ethnically Armenian, kickstarting a conflict that would last over 100 years. The people in the region, Karabakh, resisted Azerbaijani control, resulting in struggle and massacres. Nagorno-Karabakh was eventually given regional autonomy within Azerbaijan in 1921.
This was hardly the end of the conflict, however. The first Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the late 1980s and early 1990s resulted from unrest from the ethnic Armenians in the region backed by the Armenian military and ended with significant bloodshed (Nagorno-Karabakh, n.d.). Though there was no resolution, a ceasefire agreement was eventually reached in 1994. This was largely upheld until the second conflict in 2020, which reached a bloody conclusion that required a complete release of Armenian control over Nagorno-Karabakh. The region remains in Azerbaijani control today, after yet another Azerbaijani claim to the land in late 2023 (Nagorno-Karabakh, n.d.).
The Soviets
In 1920, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) laid claim on Armenia and surrounding nations (Karabakh: 1918-1921, 2023). The USSR was intended to unite peoples regardless of ethnicity, but instead it instituted a national identity that was only representative of ethnic Russians, erasing the identities of the dozens of ethnic minorities contained within the Union (Tolz 1998, p. 1004). Armenia remained part of the USSR until its fall in the early 1990s, gaining independence on September 23, 1991 (Armenia - WFB).
Armenia’s National Identity
The Armenian identity has been largely influenced over the centuries due to occupations and conflicts, and many aspects of this modern-day identity stem from those times of change. Of the many factors that contribute to Armenia’s national identity, I will be focusing on language and ethnicity, religion, and history and territory. All of these factors have deep roots in the nation’s past.
Language and Ethnicity
As a whole, Armenia is relatively ethnically and linguistically homogeneous. Both the ethnic majority (Armenian) and the linguistic majority (also Armenian) hover around 98 percent (Armenia - WFB). However, due to the Armenian Diaspora and Armenian children receiving education abroad, the number of native Armenian speakers is declining annually (Arakelyan 2015, p. 8). This has only resulted in the nation doubling down on the use of its native language as a part of its identity. According to Tatevik Arakelyan, language and ethnicity in Armenia are inextricable, as “the language is the foundation and paramount means of preserving the Armenian ethnicity” (2015, p. 8). The largest ethnic minority in the country are Yezidi (Armenia - WFB), many of whom immigrated to Armenia as a result of religious persecution by the Ottomans (Refworld - Yezidi). However, this minority receives little consideration in Armenian representation. A significant part of Armenian national identity centers around an ethnic identity, which has allowed minority identities to largely be erased from the national one.
Religion
Another defining feature of Armenian national identity is the religion shared by over 90 percent of the population: Armenian Apostolic Christianity. This is a branch of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and the Armenian Apostolic Church is the national church of Armenia. Under Ottoman rule, ethnic Armenians held tight to their religion as they were minorities in an Islamic state (Guroian 1994). Their religion became a strong source of identity, as it was one of the few aspects of identity many could keep. The general public’s strong ties to religion likely stems from the era of Ottoman rule. And though there is a modern-day separation between church and state, the Armenian Apostolic Church remains as a means of maintaining national identity (Guroian 1994).
History and Territory
Armenia has had a long and bloody history of territorial disputes with its neighbor, Azerbaijan. For the past one hundred years, the two nations have fought over the ethnically Armenian-majority region Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized to be located in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan seems to be Armenia’s most notable significant other, at least in modern times. This long standing territorial dispute has resulted in the strengthening of Armenian belief in the importance of ethnic Armenian heritage to the Armenian identity.
Despite all distinguishing characteristics, Armenia has had some struggles in developing an entirely unique national identity since its independence from the USSR. Supporters of the Union had confidence in the idea that all peoples, regardless of ethnicity, had a single national identity and that individual ethnic identities would be unable to survive outside of the USSR (Tolz 1998, p. 996). However, Armenia insisted upon reclaiming the historical homeland of Armenians as a way of laying claim to an identity separate from the USSR as a whole.
Conclusion
A nation is rarely simple enough to sum up in a few characteristics, but each nation finds its way to collecting traits it considers the most important to a concordant identity. Armenian national identity is a complex union of a largely shared language and ethnicity, religion, and history. However, while its relative homogeneity serves as a strong foundation for national unity, it has also posed challenges for Armenian minority communities. In spite of all that makes Armenia unique, there are still some post-Independence struggles with a wholly distinctive identity. Even so, Armenian national identity will continue to develop alongside its contention with other nations.
References
Arakelyan, T. (2015). The Role of Armenian Language in the Preservation of Armenian Identity. Scripta Neophilologica Posnaniensia. 7–12. https://doi.org/10.7169/snp.2015.15.01
Armenian genocide. (n.d.). Genocide Studies Program. Retrieved February 5, 2024 from https://gsp.yale.edu/case-studies/armenian-genocide
Central Intelligence Agency. (2024). Armenia. In The World Factbook. Retrieved from www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/armenia
Guroian, V. (1994). Religion and Armenian National Identity: Nationalism Old and New. Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe. 14(2).
Karabakh: 1918-1921. (2023, September 19). Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved February 5, 2024 from https://www.nkr.am/en/azerbaijan-karabakh-conflict-history
Nagorno-Karabakh (n.d.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 5, 2024 from https://www.britannica.com/place/Nagorno-Karabakh
Smith, A. D. (1991). National Identity. Harmondsworth: Penguin
Tolz, V. (1998). Forging the Nation: National Identity and Nation Building in Post-Communist Russia. Europe-Asia Studies. 50(6), 994–1022.
Triandafyllidou, A. (1998). National identity and the “Other.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 21(4), 593–612. https://doi.org/10.1080/014198798329784
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