The Formation of Electoral Alliances in the Republic of Armenia

A Case Study of the 2017 Parliamentary Elections

Authors

  • Gayane Shakhmuradyan American University of Armenia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.38.2

Keywords:

electoral alliances, electoral rule and threshold, experience of cooperation, ideology, parliamentary elections, parties, party platforms, Republic of Armenia

Abstract

This article examines how electoral alliances were formed in the 2017 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Armenia. It hypothesizes that alliances were formed among parties that are ideologically compatible and could not individually overcome the electoral threshold. Contrary to the established theory in the field, the data collected and analyzed from February to May 2018 reveal that ideological and programmatic similarities were not the primary factor that influenced the party leaders’ decision to cooperate with others. Instead, parties converged because of the short-term objectives of overcoming the electoral threshold and gaining more seats in the parliament.

Author Biography

Gayane Shakhmuradyan, American University of Armenia

Gayane Shakhmuradyan, 22, from Yerevan (Armenia) is a Master’s student at the American University of Armenia, Political Science and International Affairs program. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Yerevan State University (2017) and currently is working on her Master’s thesis. Her research interests include the formation of electoral and post-electoral coalitions, energy politics, and administrative ethics.

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Published

2018-09-30

How to Cite

Shakhmuradyan, G. (2018). The Formation of Electoral Alliances in the Republic of Armenia: A Case Study of the 2017 Parliamentary Elections. Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, 38, 31–47. https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.38.2

Issue

Vol. 38 (2018)

Section

Research articles

License

Creative Commons License
Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science by https://politikon.iapss.org/index.php/politikon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.