Diaspora: identity, trust, engagement infrastructure and socio-economic development in the homeland

As usual, Alec Gevorkyan’s piece is a broad and insightful discussion that explains the complexities and reasons why the Armenian Diaspora has failed to fulfill its potential, but I remain convinced that other than the free-market Armenia lacks the institutions, governmental or otherwise, which have the capacity to absorb and operationalize large scale Diaspora financial/economic assistance. My friend, Gevorkyan, is very kind with his references to my proposed Diaspora Investment Instruments. But it’s worth noting that I brought up that concept at the very end of the piece, only as an alternative to my main point. My main case is that after decades of experience, direct private investment has proven to be the most cost-effective and meaningful path for diasporan engagement in the Armenian Economy. The Investment Instruments are only an opportunity for the small investors who can leverage their relatively modest resources through a pooling mechanism to maximize their effect.
Even in the current dire state of national security, the free market remains the best path for the Diaspora’s economic assistance through directly investing in the fledgling but rapidly growing defense industry. A robust defense industry can be both a boon to the economy and help save Siunic or more.