1.
Parliamentary system
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In a parliamentary system, the head of state is usually a different person from the head of government. Since ancient times, when societies were tribal, there were councils or a headman whose decisions were assessed by village elders, eventually these councils have slowly evolved into the modern Parliamentary system. The first parliaments date back to Europe in the Middle Ages, for example in 1188 Alfonso IX, the modern concept of parliamentary government emerged in the Kingdom of Great Britain and its contemporary, the Parliamentary System in Sweden. In England, Simon de Montfort is remembered as one of the fathers of representative government for holding two famous parliaments, the first, in 1258, stripped the King of unlimited authority and the second, in 1265, included ordinary citizens from the towns. Later, in the 17th century, the Parliament of England pioneered some of the ideas and systems of liberal democracy culminating in the Glorious Revolution, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, the monarch, in theory, chaired cabinet and chose ministers. In practice, King George Is inability to speak English led the responsibility for chairing cabinet to go to the minister, literally the prime or first minister. By the nineteenth century, the Great Reform Act of 1832 led to parliamentary dominance, with its choice invariably deciding who was prime minister, hence the use of phrases like Her Majestys government or His Excellencys government. Nineteenth century urbanisation, industrial revolution and, modernism had already fueled the political struggle for democracy. In the radicalised times at the end of World War I, a parliamentary system may be either bicameral, with two chambers of parliament or unicameral, with just one parliamentary chamber. Scholars of democracy such as Arend Lijphart distinguish two types of parliamentary democracies, the Westminster and Consensus systems, the Westminster system is usually found in the Commonwealth of Nations and countries which were influenced by the British political tradition. These parliaments tend to have a more style of debate. The Australian House of Representatives is elected using instant-runoff voting, while the Senate is elected using proportional representation through single transferable vote, regardless of which system is used, the voting systems tend to allow the voter to vote for a named candidate rather than a closed list. The Western European parliamentary model tends to have a more consensual debating system, Consensus systems have more of a tendency to use proportional representation with open party lists than the Westminster Model legislatures. The committees of these Parliaments tend to be more important than the plenary chamber, some West European countries parliaments implement the principle of dualism as a form of separation of powers. In countries using this system, Members of Parliament have to resign their place in Parliament upon being appointed minister, ministers in those countries usually actively participate in parliamentary debates, but are not entitled to vote. Some countries such as India also require the prime minister to be a member of the legislature, the head of state appoints a prime minister who will likely have majority support in parliament. The head of state appoints a minister who must gain a vote of confidence within a set time. The head of state appoints the leader of the party holding a plurality of seats in parliament as prime minister
2.
Republic
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It is a government where the head of state is not a monarch. Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their ideology, composition, in the classical and medieval period of Europe, many states were fashioned on the Roman Republic, which referred to the governance of the city of Rome, between it having kings and emperors. The Italian medieval and Renaissance political tradition, today referred to as humanism, is sometimes considered to derive directly from Roman republicans such as Sallust. Republics were not equated with classical democracies such as Athens, but had a democratic aspect, Republics became more common in the Western world starting in the late 18th century, eventually displacing absolute monarchy as the most common form of government in Europe. In modern republics, the executive is legitimized both by a constitution and by popular suffrage, for instance, Article IV of the United States Constitution guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government. The term originates as the Latin translation of Greek word politeia, cicero, among other Latin writers, translated politeia as res publica and it was in turn translated by Renaissance scholars as republic. The term politeia can be translated as form of government, polity, or regime, and is therefore not always a word for a specific type of regime as the modern word republic is. And also amongst classical Latin, the term republic can be used in a way to refer to any regime. In medieval Northern Italy, a number of city states had commune or signoria based governments, in the late Middle Ages, writers, such as Giovanni Villani, began writing about the nature of these states and the differences from other types of regime. They used terms such as libertas populi, a free people, the terminology changed in the 15th century as the renewed interest in the writings of Ancient Rome caused writers to prefer using classical terminology. To describe non-monarchical states writers, most importantly Leonardo Bruni, adopted the Latin phrase res publica. While Bruni and Machiavelli used the term to describe the states of Northern Italy, which were not monarchies, the term can quite literally be translated as public matter. It was most often used by Roman writers to refer to the state and government, in subsequent centuries, the English word commonwealth came to be used as a translation of res publica, and its use in English was comparable to how the Romans used the term res publica. Notably, during The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell the word commonwealth was the most common term to call the new monarchless state, likewise, in Polish, the term was translated as rzeczpospolita, although the translation is now only used with respect to Poland. Presently, the term republic commonly means a system of government which derives its power from the rather than from another basis. After the classical period, during the Middle Ages, many cities developed again. The modern type of itself is different from any type of state found in the classical world. Nevertheless, there are a number of states of the era that are today still called republics
3.
Head of state
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A head of state is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state. In some countries, the head of state is a figurehead with limited or no executive power, while in others. Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of France, some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of models. An independent nation state normally has a head of state, the non-executive model, in which the head of state has either none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a ceremonial and symbolic role. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the chief executive officer, heading the executive branch of the state. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature and it also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies, the legitimacy of the head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system, usually, the king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino—the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, so, Italy had a de facto parliamentarian system, but a de jure presidential system. These officials are excluded completely from the executive, they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, hence their states governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majestys Government or His/Her Excellencys Government. Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist, the constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet, who is chaired by the prime minister and responsible to the Diet. The emperor is defined in the constitution as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and he is a ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Today, the Speaker of the Riksdag appoints the prime minister, Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. In contrast, the contact the President of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach to the president. However, he or she has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach. The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers, such as referring a bill to the court to test its constitutionality. The most extreme non-executive republican Head of State is the President of Israel, semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably a requirement that the government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a minister who is chosen by the president
4.
Head of government
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The term head of government is often differentiated from the term head of state, as they may be separate positions, individuals, and/or roles depending on the country. In parliamentary systems, including constitutional monarchies, the head of government is the de facto leader of the government. For example, in the United Kingdom, the prime minister advises the Queen on the appointment of the cabinet, advice she is required to accept. On the other hand, the Queens long service as the head of state enables her to provide the prime minister with information and insight into many matters to better run the government. However, because the United Kingdom is a monarchy, the Prime Minister uses his or her own discretion regarding whether or not to follow the Queens advice. The Queen also is entitled to appoint a new Prime Minister, in presidential republics or in absolute monarchies, the head of state is also usually the head of government. The relationship between that leader and the government, however, can vary greatly, ranging from separation of powers to autocracy, in semi-presidential systems, the head of government may answer to both the head of state and the legislature, with the specifics provided by each countrys constitution. A modern example is the present French government, which originated as the French Fifth Republic in 1958, in France, the president, the head of state, appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government. In some cases, the head of state may represent one political party, in this case, known as cohabitation, the prime minister, along with the cabinet, controls domestic policy, with the presidents influence is largely restricted to foreign affairs. In directorial systems, the executive responsibilities of the head of government are spread among a group of people, a prominent example is the Swiss Federal Council, where each member of the council heads a department and also votes on proposals relating to all departments. A common title for many heads of government is prime minister, various constitutions use different titles, and even the same title can have various multiple meanings, depending on the constitutional order and political system of the state in question. In addition to prime minister, titles used for the democratic model, some of these titles relate to governments below the national level. Have been used by various Empires, Kingdoms and Princely States of India as a title for the Prime Minister, maltese, In Malta, the head of government is Prim Ministru. In this case, the prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch, some such titles are diwan, mahamantri, pradhan, wasir or vizier. However, just because the head of state is the de jure dominant position does not mean that he/she will not always be the de facto political leader, in some cases, the head of state is a figurehead whilst the head of the government leads the ruling party. In some cases a head of government may even pass on the title in hereditary fashion, the ability to vote down legislative proposals of the government. Control over or ability to vote down fiscal measures and the budget, all of these requirements directly impact the Head of governments role. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament, heads of government are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by Resignation, following, Defeat in a general election
5.
Cabinet (government)
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A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the top leaders of the executive branch. They are usually called ministers, but in some jurisdictions are sometimes called secretaries, in some countries, the cabinet is called Council of Ministers or Government Council or lesser known names such as Federal Council, Inner Council or High Council. These countries may differ in the way that the cabinet is used or established, in some countries, particularly those that use a parliamentary system, the Cabinet collectively decides the governments direction, especially in regard to legislation passed by the parliament. In this way, the President gets opinions and advice in upcoming decisions, instead, it is usually the Head of Government who holds all means of power in his hands and the Cabinet reports to him. In most governments, members of the Cabinet are given the title of minister, in a few governments, as in the case of Mexico, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and United States, the title of secretary is also used for some Cabinet members. In many countries, a Secretary is a member with an inferior rank to a minister. In some countries attorneys general also sit in the cabinet, while in others this is strictly prohibited as the attorneys general are considered to be part of the judicial branch of government. The size of cabinets varies, although most contain around ten to twenty ministers, researchers have found an inverse correlation between a countrys level of development and cabinet size, on average, the more developed a country is, the smaller is its cabinet. In the United Kingdom and its colonies, cabinets began as smaller sub-groups of the English Privy Council, the term comes from the name for a relatively small and private room used as a study or retreat. The process has repeated itself in recent times, as leaders have felt the need to have a Kitchen Cabinet or sofa government, under the Westminster system, members of the cabinet are Ministers of the Crown who are collectively responsible for all government policy. All ministers, whether senior and in the cabinet or junior ministers, must publicly support the policy of the government, the cabinet may also provide ideas on/if new laws were established, and what they include. Cabinet deliberations are secret and documents dealt with in cabinet are confidential, in theory the prime minister or premier is first among equals. In some countries, the ministers are referred to as spokespersons. A prime ministerial government is a government where the minister is dominant in terms of the executive. As the prime minister is, by definition, a member of a cabinet – this form of government is often a development from cabinet government, in true cabinet government the prime minister is primus inter pares, where prime ministerial government necessitates the crossing of this boundary. An often cited example of ministerial government is the United Kingdom. Thatcher began using bilateral meetings with ministers to determine policy areas using cabinet to simply announce these decisions. Due to the extent of her success, and her control over cabinet positions, despite John Major moving back towards cabinet government, Tony Blair carried on Thatchers approach
6.
Armenia
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Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a sovereign state in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. The Republic of Armenia constitutes only one-tenth of historical Armenia, Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. Urartu was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia, in the 1st century BC the Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion, in between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became the first Christian nation. The official date of adoption of Christianity is 301 AD. The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century, under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the fell in 1045. An Armenian principality and later a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, during World War I, Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian Genocide. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, in 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Armenia recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the worlds oldest national church, as the countrys primary religious establishment. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD, Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which was proclaimed in 1991, the native Armenian name for the country is Հայք. The name in the Middle Ages was extended to Հայաստան, by addition of the Persian suffix -stan, the further origin of the name is uncertain. It is also postulated that the name Hay comes from one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states—the Ḫayaša-Azzi. The exonym Armenia is attested in the Old Persian Behistun Inscription as Armina, the ancient Greek terms Ἀρμενία and Ἀρμένιοι are first mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus. Xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and he relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians. According to the histories of both Moses of Chorene and Michael Chamchian, Armenia derives from the name of Aram, a descendant of Hayk
7.
Culture of Armenia
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The culture of Armenia encompasses many elements that are based on the geography, literature, architecture, dance, and music of the people. Literature began in Armenia around 401 A. D, the majority of the literary arts were created by Moses of Khorene, in the 5th century. Through the years the elements of literature have changed as the stories, in the late 17th century, Alexander Tertzakian was a renowned Armenian writer who created several works considered to be among Armenias classics. During the 19th century, writer Mikael Nalbandian worked to create a new Armenian literary identity, nalbandians poem Song of the Italian Girl may have been the inspiration for the Armenian national anthem, Mer Hayrenik. Mesrop Mashtots is considered to be the creator of the Armenian alphabet, Khorenatsi is credited with the earliest known historiographical work on the history of Armenia written in Armenian, but was also a poet, or hymn writer, and a grammarian. The History of Armenia was written at the behest of Prince Sahak Bagratuni and has had an impact on Armenian historiography. It was used and quoted extensively by later medieval Armenian authors, the Armenian dance heritage has been one of the oldest, richest and most varied in the Near East. From the fifth to the third millennia B. C. in the regions of Armenia there are rock paintings of scenes of country dancing. These dances were accompanied by certain kinds of songs or musical instruments. In the 5th century Moses of Khorene himself had heard of how the old descendants of Aram make mention of these things in the ballads for the lyre and their songs, one of the most energetic Armenian dances is the martial dance Yarkhushta. Yarkhushta is believed to have its origins in the early Middle Ages as it is mentioned in the works of Movses Khorenatsi, Faustus of Byzantium, and Grigor Magistros. Yarkhushta has traditionally been danced by Armenian soldiers before combat engagements, partly for ritualistic purposes, the dance is performed by men, who face each other in pairs. The key element of the dance is a forward movement when participants rapidly approach one another, Classical Armenian architecture is divided into four separate periods. The first Armenian churches were built between the 4th and 7th Century, beginning when Armenia converted to Christianity, and ending with the Arab invasion of Armenia, the early churches were mostly simple basilicas, but some with side apses. By the 5th century the typical cupola cone in the center had become widely used, by the 7th century, centrally-planned churches had been built and a more complicated niched buttress and radiating Hripsimé style had formed. By the time of the Arab invasion, most of what we now know as classical Armenian architecture had formed. Though women historically dominated carpet-weaving in Armenian communities, several prominent carpet-weavers in Karabakh are known to have been men, and in some cases whole families took up the art. The oldest extant Armenian carpet from the region, referred to as Artsakh during the era, is from the village of Banants
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Armenian art
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Armenian art is the unique form of art developed over the last five millennia in which the Armenian people lived on the Armenian Highland. Armenian architecture and miniature painting have dominated Armenian art and have shown consistent development over the centuries, other forms of Armenian art include sculpture, fresco, mosaic, ceramic, metalwork, engraving, and textiles, especially Armenian carpets. Prehistoric Armenia was home to the Urartu culture in the Iron Age, notable for its early metal sculptures, often of animals. The region was, as later, often contested by the large empires holding the nearby regions of Persia, Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and these all had considerable influence of Armenian art. A distinctive Armenian feature, which may have influenced the Medieval art of Europe, was the popularity from early on of figurative relief carvings on the outside of churches, armenians specialized in arts and crafts such as carpet-weaving. The study of Armenian art began in the early 20th century, notable scholars of Armenian art were Catholicos Garegin Hovsepian and professor Sirarpie Der Nerséssian. More recently, Jean-Michel Thierry and Professor Dickran Kouymjian are prominent scholars of Armenian art, classical and Medieval Armenian architecture is divided into four separate periods. The first period, from the 4th to the 7th centuries, began with Armenias conversion to Christianity, the early churches were mostly simple basilicas, some with side apses. By the 5th century the typical cupola cone in the center had become widely used, by the 7th century, centrally-planned churches had been built and the more complicated niched buttress and radiating Hripsimé style had formed. By the time of the Arab invasions, most of what we now know as classical Armenian architecture had formed, the second period lasted from the 9th to the 11th centuries. Ornately carved Armenian khachkars were developed during this time, many new cities and churches were built during this time, including a new capital at Lake Van and a Cathedral on Akdamar Island to match. The Cathedral of Ani was also completed during this dynasty and it was during this time that the first major monasteries, such as Haghpat and Haritchavank were founded. This period was ended by the Seljuk invasion, illuminated manuscripts were produced in Armenia mainly between the 5th and the 17th centuries. The highest point of art is associated with the 13th century. The majority of the manuscripts were lost, and scolarly approach to studies of Armenian illuminated manuscripts was only developed in the half of the 20th century. Each culture possesses an original element which becomes a symbol of the entire national culture. In Armenia such symbol is “khachkar, the so-called cross-stones, the monuments of Armenia which are not found anywhere in the world, the word “khachkar” is formed by two Armenian roots, “khach” and kar. In 2015, Armenia won the Leone dOro for Best Pavilion at the Venice Biennale Culture of Armenia List of Armenian artists Cafesjian Museum of Art National Gallery of Armenia Thierry, THE ARTS OF ARMENIA an online Armenian art history book by Dickran Kouymjian, California State University, Fresno
9.
Media of Armenia
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The media of Armenia refers to mass media outlets based in the Republic of Armenia. Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues, as a country in transition, Armenias media system is under transformation. The Constitution of Armenia guarantees freedom of speech, yet media freedom remains restricted, among threats of violence, strong political inferences, Armenia ranks 78th in the 2015 Press Freedom Index report compiled by Reporters Without Borders, between Lesotho and Sierra Leone. Article 27 of the Constitution of Armenia guarantees freedom of speech, Article 47 of the Constitution of Armenia prohibits incitement to national, racial and religious hatred, propaganda of violence. The Constitution also establishes the right to seek, receive, convey and disseminate information, yet, law is most often unevenly applied or completely disapplicated. Criminal liability for defamation was eliminated in 2010, but the civil code established high monetary penalties, a draft amendment that would make online media liable for defamatory comments was put forward in 2014, it was postponed sine die after domestic and international criticisms. Specialised media laws include the Telecommunication Law and the Law on Television, the latter guarantees right to freedom of selection, production and broadcast of TV and radio programme and forbids censorship. It also establishes the Public TV and Radio Company as an enterprise with special status, its management body is the Public TV Council. The same law establishes the National Commission of Television and Radio as an independent agency for the regulation of licensing and monitoring of private TV and radio companies. The 2010 new Law on Television and Radio was negatively assessed by the OSCE RFoM, as failing to promote media pluralism in the digital age, a Freedom of information Law was passed in 2003. 2014 amendments aimed at operationalise it, but to no avail yet, while courts have been responsive, government departments have declined access requests, and many Soviet-era files remain classified. Other relevant laws for the sector include the Law on Advertising. The latter established the right to public information and detailed the lawful limitations to such right. Broadcast media require licenses from the National Commission on Television and Radio, the licensing systems hinders media freedom and diversity. Print and online media are exempt from licenses, there is no law exempting journalists from testimony or protecting their sources in Armenia. There is no specific Press Council in Armenia, Journalists and media outlets can be prosecuted in court, and have one month to explain errors and convince the court of its innocence. TV is the medium in Armenia, and most of its channels are controlled or friendly with the government. The print sector is small and in decline, while online media are rising, ownership of the media is often opaque
10.
Sport in Armenia
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A wide array of sports are played in Armenia. Popular Sports in Armenia include football, basketball, volleyball and hockey, further, the country sends athletes to the Olympics in boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, judo, gymnastics, track and field, diving, swimming and sharp shooting. Armenias mountainous terrain provides great opportunities for the practice of sports like skiing, being a landlocked country, water sports can only be practiced on lakes, notably Lake Sevan. Competitively, Armenia has been successful at chess, weightlifting. It also hosts the Pan-Armenian Games, prior to 1992, Armenians would participate in the Olympics representing the USSR. As part of the Soviet Union, Armenia was very successful, winning plenty of medals, the first medal won by an Armenian in modern Olympic history was by Hrant Shahinyan, who won two golds and two silvers in gymnastics at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Armenia first participated at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, under a unified CIS team, despite only having five athletes Armenians won 4 medals. Hrachya Petikyan won gold in shooting, Israel Militosyan won gold in weightlifting. Since the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Armenia has participated as an independent nation, Armenia participates in the Summer Olympic Games in boxing, fencing, wrestling, weightlifting, judo, gymnastics, track and field, diving, swimming, and sharp shooting. It also participates in the Winter Olympic Games in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, Armenia used to play as part of the USSR national football team at the international level. Armenia played as part of the USSR until 1992, when the Armenian national football team played their first official match, representing solely Armenia, the national team is controlled by the Football Federation of Armenia. The Armenian Premier League is the top competition in Armenia. The league currently consists of eight teams, and relegates to the Armenian First League, over the years, the league has evolved from a small competition, consisting of only eight teams to two separate divisions. Armenia also has many venues, such as the Hrazdan Stadium. Simonyan also became the Soviet Top League top goalscorer three times and he also holds the record for most league goals scored for Spartak Moscow at 133. After retiring from football, he became the coach of Spartak. Both teams won the Soviet Top League under Simonyans management, henrikh Mkhitaryan is the current Captain of the Armenian national football team and the teams star player. Mkhitaryan has won the Armenian Premier League four times and the Armenian Supercup twice as a player for FC Pyunik and he has also been given the Armenian Footballer of the Year award twice
11.
Vardavar
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Vardavar or Vartavar is an Armenian festival in Armenia where people of social groups drench each other with water. Although now a Christian tradition, Vardavars history dates back to pagan times, the ancient festival is traditionally associated with the goddess Astghik, who was the goddess of water, beauty, love and fertility. The festivities associated with this religious observance of Astghik were named “Vartavar” because Armenians offered her roses as a celebration, Vardavar is celebrated 98 days after Easter. During the day of Vardavar, people from an array of ages are allowed to douse strangers with water. It is common to see people pouring buckets of water from balconies on unsuspecting people walking below them, the festival is very popular among children as it is one day where they can get away with pulling pranks. It is also a means of refreshment on the usually hot, no comment Voice of America Armenians pour water on each other to bridge pagan and Christian traditions Vardevar Vardavar 2005
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