PRESS RELEASE
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)
395 Concord Ave.
Belmont, MA 02478
Tel.: 617-489-1610
Email: hq@naasr.org

LECTURE ON "ROCKY ROAD OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH NORMALIZATION" AT COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY

Dr. Arman Grigoryan, currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of
Michigan, will give a lecture entitled "The Rocky Road of
Armenian-Turkish Normalization: Before and After the Protocols," on
Thursday, January 28, 2010, at 6:30 p.m., in the Lindsay Rogers Common
Room (Room 707) of the International Affairs Building at Columbia
University (420 West 118th Street, New York, NY). The lecture will be
sponsored by the Columbia University Armenian Studies Program, the
Armenian Center at Columbia University, the Middle East Institute at
Columbia University, and the National Association for Armenian Studies
and Research (NAASR).

The signing of the protocols on the establishment of diplomatic
relations and the development of bilateral relations between Armenia and
Turkey have been hailed as a watershed event. After all, the
relationship between Armenians and Turks has been one of the most
hostile relationships in the world since at least World War I.
Therefore, the signing of the protocols was bound to generate some
significant reactions. This presentation will aim to understand the
history of criticisms against normalization, current political shifts
within the government of Armenia, and the prospects of the protocols’
success.

Dr. Arman Grigoryan is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of
Michigan, where he has a joint affiliation with the Political Science
Department and the Armenian Studies Program. Dr. Grigoryan received a
Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University in 2008 after
defending his dissertation on the role of third parties in the
escalation of state-minority conflicts. He also holds an MA from the
University of Chicago in international relations, and an undergraduate
degree from the Yerevan State University, where he majored in Turkish
studies.

Dr. Grigoryan’s publications have appeared in Ethnopolitics,
International Security, Armenian Journal of Public Policy, and the
French Chaillot Papers. His article on the escalatory potential of
third-party interventions will appear in International Studies Quarterly
next year. Prior to his academic career, Grigoryan worked in the first
independent government of Armenia as an expert on Turkish affairs.

More information about the lecture is available by contacting Nanor
Kebranian at nk@columbia.edu or 212-851-4002 or by contacting NAASR at
hq@naasr.org or 617-489-1610, or by writing to NAASR, 395 Concord Ave.,
Belmont, MA 02478.