The history of Armenia is a story of brave struggle against violent colonialism and repression. The tragedy of the Armenian genocide of the early 20th century was followed by decades of Soviet rule. Independence in the 1990s then issued in almost thirty years of authoritarian government.
But in April 2018, Armenia’s “Velvet Revolution” saw mass peaceful protests topple the former kleptocratic regime, bringing new hope for democracy. With revolutionary leader Nikol Pashinyan elected as Prime Minister in May, a wave of optimism swept across the country. People everywhere were newly conscious of their collective power.
But, now, Armenia faces a different kind of threat: a shady parallel legal system known as investor state dispute settlement (ISDS).
