ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the post-Soviet Armenian political elite constructed the political narrative around the concept of national interest. It argues that the Armenian political elite, given the post-Soviet reality of weak formal institutions and nascent democracy, played an instrumental role in shaping the discourse around the concepts of national identity and interest. The analysis of the discourse on national identity and national interest shows the political leadership rather than constructing, in essence 'deconstructed' the national narrative, leading to what can be dubbed as 'disarticulation' of the nation or even, to the failure of putting together a sound national project. The chapter suggests that the political discourse generated around the concept of identity serves as a primary reference pool for the definition of the nation's interests and subsequently its foreign policy. Although the processes of establishing national identity and interest are conceptualized here from a modernist perspective, the significance of how ethno-symbolism was used by the new political leadership is analysed.
