ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Armenia. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities (PPP), life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Armenia. Prior to the 1995 parliamentary elections, nine political parties were banned, thereby ensuring the dominance of Levon Ter Petrosian's ruling Armenian National Movement's (ANM) coalition. In the foreign policy sphere, Armenia pledged its support for US military operations in Afghanistan and formally granted overflight permission to US aircraft in the campaign the day after Washington began air strikes against the Taliban in early October. Armenians can change their government democratically, although the 1995 and 1999 parliamentary and 1996 presidential elections were characterized by serious irregularities.
