Problems of foreign service and diplomacy in the post-Soviet context: the case of Armenia

The institutional development of many post-Communist countries remains a daunting task. Since the early 1990s, some of them have managed to achieve visible results in eradicating corruption and enhancing the effectiveness and accountability of public institutions, while others still struggle with several systemic problems. Since regaining its independence Armenia has managed to transform some of its public institutions by carrying out large-scale reforms; however, much remains to be done. The present research examines the institutional features of Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) before the 2015 constitutional amendments, which changed the semi-presidential system of government to parliamentary democracy. It particularly looks at the MFA’s effectiveness in policy planning and formulation, its relation to the presidential administration, its recruitment strategies and the promotional prospects of the diplomatic staff. The study argues that for the past decade or so the impact of the MFA on foreign policy decisions has been limited, whereas the evaluation of recruitment and career promotion policies reveals several significant systemic deficiencies. Existing research on post-Soviet states concentrates mainly on diverse foreign policy and geopolitical problems and rarely pays attention to institutional considerations. The present research aims to address this gap.