Participatory democracy is an important supplement to representative democracy. It concerns the involvement of citizens in policy-making and legislative processes between periodic elections. Such civic involvement strengthens the linkage between legislators and citizens and imbues the resulting laws with greater legitimacy and wider support. The OSCE’s 2014 assessment of Armenia’s legislative process found it to be not flexible enough, with too little involvement of the National Assembly (the legislature) itself, let alone of civil society.

The Velvet Revolution of 2018 inaugurated a democratic opening in the country and coincided with Armenia’s transition from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary system, thereby increasing the importance of the National Assembly. Only limited progress has been made since then.

This project serves to support Armenian civil society in its engagement with the legislative process. Through platforms that offer space both for knowledge transfer and open discussion of experiences and best practices in reviewing policy and legislation, it emphasises civil society collaboration and the development of adaptive strategies that facilitate public access to policy-making fora. The initiative also addresses media professionals to support informed and critical reporting on the legislative processes and draft bills for broader audiences.

01 May 2025 – 31 December 2025

Kathrin Maria Scherr

Email:
Phone: +49 (0)6221 91404 34
(See full profile)