Dr. Nerses Kopalyan Discusses the Military & Geopolitical Context of Azerbaijan’s Attacks on Armenia

Armenian Alliance Conversations with Manyak Saakyan

Dr. Nerses Kopalyan discusses the military, political and geopolitical context of Azerbaijan's attacks on Armenia. He discusses Azerbaijan's strategy of cross border attacks and incursions into Armenian territory, including taking pieces of land from Armenia by force. He also talks about Aliyev's grand strategy of creating humanitarian catastrophes and using psychological warfare against the Armenian population in order to pressure the Armenian government to concede to Azerbaijan's demands. Dr. Kopalyan states that Aliyev's demand for a sovereign corridor through Armenian territory is a tactic to pressure Armenia to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan's territory. Dr. Kopalyan explains some of the military disparities between Armenia and Azerbaijan and what should be done to improve Armenia's military capabilities. He mentions some of the ways that Armenians in the diaspora can assist Armenia with the transfer of knowledge to Armenian institutions. Dr. Kopalyan talks about how the United States, France and Iran have been responding to Azerbaijan's major attack on Armenia on September 13, 2022. He talks about the implications of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Armenia and possible diplomatic and military assistance from the United States and France. Dr. Kopalyan explains that Iran may intervene militarily if Azerbaijan attempts to invade Syunik, Armenia.

Dr. Nerses Kopalyan, PhD. is an associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). His fields of specialization include international security, geopolitics, political theory, and philosophy of science. He has conducted extensive research on polarity, superpower relations, and security studies. He is the author of World Political Systems After Polarity, the co-author of Sex, Power, And Politics, and co-author of Latinos in Nevada: A Political, Social, and Economic Profile. His current research and academic publications focus on geopolitical and great power relations within Eurasia, with an emphasis on democratic breakthroughs within authoritarian orbits. He has conducted extensive field work in Armenia on the country's security architecture and its democratization process. He has authored several policy papers for the government of Armenia and has served as a voluntary advisor to various state institutions.