Democratic transition, stagnation and its environmental consequences: Protection of Lake Sevan and forestry resources in post-Soviet Armenia

This dissertation examines how the stalled process of democratization in post-communist hybrid regimes has affected their environmental policymaking processes and protection outcomes. I examine how shallow democratization in the rule of law, administrative state agencies, and civil society in the Republic of Armenia has influenced environmental policymaking and protection over four time periods: the Soviet period (1980s–1991); early democratic transition period (1992–1994); mid-transition period (1995–1998); and late transition period (1998–2003). Two critical national environmental issues are analyzed in detail: protection of Lake Sevan and forestry resources.; I employ two complementary research methodologies to study the change in environmental protection over the transition period: (1) in-depth interviews with over sixty experts and officials in Armenia during the period from 1997–2001; and (2) content analysis of official documents and environmental news coverage.; My research demonstrates that, contrary to hopeful expectations, Lake Sevan and forestry resources have both been seriously degraded during the transition period (despite different starting points at the end of Soviet rule) due to the incomplete development of democratic institutions and governance. I therefore conclude that democratic stagnation adversely affects environmental protection in post-communist hybrid regimes.; Furthermore, environmental protection in shallow hybrid democracies is fundamentally different than in either consolidated democracies or authoritarian regimes. There is a unique pattern to this eco-political dynamic, as we see a decline in the benefits of the strong state to make enlightened environmental decisions, and an incomplete gain in democracy's advantages of increased pluralism, openness, and information sharing.; Environmental protection in hybrid regimes such as Armenia is characterized by the weakening of administrative agencies in charge of environmental protection, decline of pre-independence environmental movements, lack of formal mechanisms to allow NGOs to participate in environmental policymaking, passage of ineffectual environmental laws that are difficult to implement and monitor, failure of attempts to use legal mechanisms, short bursts of activity and short-term increases in capacity through international funding that unfortunately are not maintained, and increasing dependence on international aid. Nevertheless, there may be hope for improvement in the future due to increasing pluralism and decentralization of environmental policymaking and increasing interaction with international organizations.