In a heartfelt essay in Ianyan magazine Jirair Libaridian argues that the steady emigration of young people from Armenia threatens the country’s long term viability. The current government’s unwillingness to reach a compromise peace with Azerbaijan may please elements of the Armenian diaspora, but the economic blockade is strangling the country. Libaridian, a professor at the University of Michigan, was an advisor to President Levon Ter Petrossian, who was forced to resign in 1998 because of his willingness to make a deal over Nagorno Karabakh.

Libaridian’s analysis raises the question of who speaks for the nation: the government, the diaspora, the current population, future generations?

The latest round of peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan collapsed on June 24. I wrote this piece on the risks of a new war in the Moscow Times.