The case for a new Armenian Armed Forces doctrine

Survival has remained the most fundamental principle in the minds of Armenians. Despite genocide, ethnic cleansing and a geopolitical location at the crossroads of hostile neighbors, the survival of Armenian civilization for over 2,000 years is tremendously impressive.

Since at least the 2016 Four-Day War, serious questions have been raised regarding Yerevan’s national security strategy, military preparedness and arms procurement. In a 2022 academic article for the U.S. Army War College, Armenian Colonel Zhirayr Amirkhanyan wrote: “The root cause for the defeat of the Armenian forces in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (2020) was flawed military doctrine inherited from the Soviet Union.”