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Initially created for interaction between professionals, Internet became accessibleto billions of people in a matter of a few decades (by some criteria in less than 20years), and special structures with various functionality began to appear inside it.All of this represents just another cycle of the permanent information revolution,a complicated concept with all the positive and negative ramifications stemmingfrom it. It has to be noted that Internet, especially with its embedded social networksand blogosphere, is no longer a passive information/communication, sociopsychologicaland business service phenomenon. It gradually crosses the boundariesof our computer screens and becomes a real, crucially important societal, politicaland military factor.We believe the World Wide Web has become an integral part of the environmentaround us, and hence it would not be quite appropriate to pass unequivocaljudgments on this or that happening in the Internet. Researchers should widen theirunderstanding of this phenomenon and try to figure out its dynamic mechanisms. Tosome extent this would enable supporting the desirable trends and/or countering thedetrimental ones, from perspective of the public interests protection.In this paper we contemplate the Internet (along with social networking communityand blogosphere) as a new, virtual, but effective form of democracy, whichclashes in social sense with the realities of the modern democracy quite aptly definedby the term "post-democracy." We shall also examine the role of Internet and socialnetworks in terms of information security, since this system is a rather powerfulweapon in modern network-centric information warfare, as well as in geopoliticalconfrontation as a whole.

More than 20 years have passed since the day (November 9, 1989) when the EastGerman patrols guarding the symbol of the Cold War – the Berlin Wall, left theirduty stations and Germany unified de-facto. The fragments of the fallen "wall" becamehot selling souvenirs and thus, in a way they remained symbols but this timearound, symbols of the new era. Two years later the USSR and the "socialist bloc"ceased to exist.What happened was described as the "end of the Cold War", "victory of democracy",although characterizations like "geopolitical tragedy" or "civilizationalcollapse" are suggested as well. Nonetheless, the fall of the Berlin Wall ushered in anew era, which essentially differs from the previous one and used to be called"post-modernity". It is not for nothing that the international community pompouslycelebrated the 20th anniversary of this event, with official events organizedand wide discussions held in mass media and political scientists circles. Meanwhile,there have not been too many references to this topic in our information space.

Stirring up the problem of Armenian-Turkish relations and the forthcoming centenary of the Armenian Genocide prompted to reconsider the current problems of the Armeniancy, and to turn to our political history and possible prospects. These tendencies are quite relevant because the changes that take place locally and in the world call for developing a national strategy adequate to the new realities. Of course, it is desirable to have continuous discussions on the issues of national importance. Back in the 19th century the British thinker John Stuart Mill expressed an idea along the lines that the absence of serious discussions on fundamental principles corrupts and distorts those very ideas and principles, and it is difficult to disagree with him on that. It is obvious that without new approaches, the solution of all-Armenian issues (and there are many of them) is at least problematic. Let us try to cover some of them briefly.

The military operation performed by Russia with regard to the South Osetia conflictcan be classified as a war which was local and rightful. The current articlepresents some features of the accompanying war of information analyzing the possiblemotivations of the warring sides, including US, which motivations had facilitatedthe start of hostilities. It has been shown that the military and political developmentsunder consideration conform to the logical structure of Cold War II, beingbased upon the strategy of Information Wars of the Third Generation.

The present article draws parallels between existing political realities and the onesthat occurred during the Cold War in the second half of the 20th century. Similarto the previous one, the new Cold War is consistent with the logic of «the policy ofdeterrence» which nowadays is directed against the United States. «Cold War-1»reflected stiff competition between the two opposite ideological and geopoliticalprograms. Meanwhile, today we have several poles of power and, therefore, «ColdWar-2» is viewed as multipolar. The article provides a schematic outline of thestrategies pursued by the parties to the «multipolar war», where as a rule asymmetriccompetition is dominant. It also describes the dynamics of the relationship betweenthe two traditional rivals, the United States and Russia.

The statement by Arnold Toynbee on a successful functioning of civilizations, assumingadequate responses to the relevant challenges1, is quoted very frequently indifferent wordings. This point however never loses its relevance by acquiring acommonplace coloring. Therefore it will be quite legitimate to lean upon this statementby Toynbee while trying to make an approximation of Armenia's successesand failures in this setting during the past year. It can also be added that in keepingwith a number of studies, Armenia retains every feature of an autonomous civilizationentity, so that associating the Armenian issues with the nomenclature employedby Toynby can be regarded as thoroughly appropriate2.Within the last two decades the Armenian society has passed a very complexperiod of its history, spanning both a revolution and a war. There is evidencetoday that our society has overcome the state of shock becoming more compatiblewith the environment, and most importantly, more adequately responding to thesurrounding processes. There are certain rather positive alterations in the Armeniancommunal consciousness. A significant reduction has been observed in thetendency to slur or, conversely, to compliment the inherent Soviet socialist past.Also forming in parallel is a comprehensive perception of the many faults andmerits of the democratic system. A relevant evolution has also occurred to thepolitical elite: given all currently recognized problems, it has acquired the muchneededskills of governmental and political control which were in such a deficitin the initial post-revolutionary years.All those things are evidence of Armenia forming a society which can adequatelyevaluate both its own place within the global community and its own capabilitiesin the newly emerging world. The above-mentioned positive features

The beginning of 2010 was marked by an onset of a series of powerful transformationalprocesses on the African continent. The majority of the "civilized world" rediscoveredAfrica after the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg, which attractednot only tourists, but also the attention of the world mass media to South Africa andits problemsHowever, the recent events in Egypt drew a very special interest as they led tochange of the political course in this key African country. These events are determinativein many respects for the destiny of the whole continent; it is not for nothingthat Egypt was called "gateway to Africa" since prehistoric times.Let us attempt sorting through what stood behind such turbulent events thatswept through the "black continent" like a tsunami.

International audience ; Major geopolitical players participate in the geopolitical developments around Nakhichevan and thus, these developments are subject to the logic of complexities that exist in the global dimension. In this context responding to challenges that Armenia faces implies application of analytical methods based on the temporal and space "triad" rules. The article draws parallels between the processes occurring in 1918-1920 and the modern realities. It is evident that Azerbaijan has managed to turn Nakhichevan into an economically developing and well-armed province that poses serious threats to the national security of Armenia. The effective response to the existing threats dictates the need to learn methods of substantiated forecasts and form a political-analytical culture of preparing for the possible scenarios. ; Նախիջևանի շուրջ ընթացող աշխարհաքաղաքական զարգացումներին մասնակցում են աշխարհաքաղաքական խոշոր դերակատարներ, և այդպիսով այդ զարգացումները ենթարկվում են գլոբալ հարթությունում իշխող բարդությունների տրամաբանությանը։ Այդ համատեքստում Հայաստանին ուղղված մարտահրավերներին արդյունավետ արձագանքելը ենթադրում է ժամանակային և տարածական «տրիադաների» կանոնների վրա հիմնված վերլուծաբանական համալիր մեթոդների կիրառում։ Հոդվածում զուգահեռներ են տարվում 1918- 1920թթ. գործընթացների և արդի իրողությունների միջև։ Փաստվում է, որ այսօր ադրբեջանական կողմը կարողացել է Նախիջևանը վերածել տնտեսապես զարգացող և սպառազինված մարզի, որը լրջորեն վտանգում է ՀՀ անվտանգությունը։ Առկա սպառնալիքներին արդյունավետ արձագանքելը, մասնավորապես, թելադրում է հիմնավորված կանխատեսումներ կատարելու մեթոդների յուրացում և հնարավոր սցենարներին պատրաստվելու քաղաքականվերլուծաբանական մշակույթի ձևավորում։ ; В геополитических развитиях вокруг Нахиджевана участвуют крупные геополитические акторы, и таким образом эти процессы подпадают под логику сложностей глобального порядка. В этом контексте эффективная реакция на направленные против Армении вызовы предполагает применение комплексных методов, основанных на правилах временных и пространственных ...

International audience ; In the book the causes and effects of the collapse of the USSR, as well as preconditions, which allowed Armenia to face adequately the challenges of the modern world under the multi-vector globalization and formation of poly-ideological communities, are analyzed. In the context of national security the role of the intellectual resources and strategies of development of the pan-Armenian society are discussed. Some aspects of information security of Armenia under the "information society" and development of the social networks on the Internet are analyzed. The methods of scientific forecasts and possible scenarios for Armenia and Armenian community in the light of military and political developments in the world and region are presented. ; В книге проанализированы причины и последствия распада СССР, а также те предпосылки, которые позволили Aрмении адекватно реагировать на вызовы современного мира в условиях мультивекторной глобализации и формирования полиидеологических сообществ. В контексте национальной безопасности обсуждается роль интеллектуальных ресурсов и стратегия развития панармянского общества. Анализируются некоторые аспекты информационной безопасности Армении в свете «информационного общества» и развития социальных сетей в Интернете. Представлены методы научного прогнозирования и возможные сценарии для Армении и армянского сообщества с учетом военно-политических развитий в мире и регионе.