This study seeks to situate Armenia’s current political system within its broader historical and institutional context, assess prevailing political trends, and identify plausible trajectories for future development. Building on developments from the 2015 constitutional and electoral reforms through the 2018 Revolution, the post-revolutionary reform agenda, and the post-war and post-2021 electoral periods, it examines the dynamics that continue to shape Armenia’s democratic transformation. In doing so, the study pays particular attention to how political crises, security shocks and shifting geopolitical alignments have affected governance patterns, the institutional balance of power and the nature of party competition.

The analysis addresses the interaction between Armenia’s constitutional and legal architecture and day-to-day political practice. It explores whether reforms intended to depersonalise power and strengthen democratic institutions have delivered meaningful changes in accountability, oversight and responsiveness, or whether informal practices and political incentives continue to reproduce executive predominance. To this end, the study examines the functioning of parliament, particularly under conditions of a constitutional majority, and the extent to which parliamentary scrutiny, policy deliberation and representation are exercised in practice.

A central focus is the evolving role of political parties as the principal vehicles for political competition, representation and governance in a parliamentary system. The study reviews parties’ internal development, their capacity to articulate programme-based alternatives, and their engagement with societal interests beyond electoral cycles. Special attention is given to persistent challenges related to transparency, organisational sustainability, policy development and the quality of representation in parties’ day-to-day activities, including their approaches to coalition-building, opposition work and constituency outreach.

By combining institutional analysis with an assessment of the party system and the broader political context, the study offers an integrated perspective on Armenia’s democratic transition. It treats this transition as an ongoing, contested and fragile process, shaped by both reform initiatives and structural constraints, rather than as a linear or completed transformation. The study therefore aims not only to describe institutional arrangements, but also to interpret how they operate under pressure and what this implies for democratic consolidation.