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With increasing wine consumption in Armenia, both residents and inbound tourists have become attractive target groups for wine sales, which are stimulated by wine tourism activities. The objective of this explorative study is to shed light on the potential of wine tourism for rural development in Armenia.

The paper starts with a structured and interdisciplinary literature review. Based on qualitative surveys among local tour operators and wine producers, and complemented by three expert interviews, the offer of wine tourism activities in Armenia will then be analyzed.

Each of the surveyed wine producers offers wine tourism activities. Foreign tourists know little about the Armenian wine industry, however, and are interested in cultural experiences and Armenia’s breathtaking nature. Armenian wine producers need to understand the expectations of their target groups to develop or adapt their offers successfully.

Due to the explorative nature of this study, the sample size of the surveyed wineries and tour operators is small and hence not representative. In addition, only local tour operators were surveyed. The sample should be extended to include foreign tour operators and more wineries in future research projects.

Whereas first studies on the structure and competitiveness of the Armenian wine sector exist, there is no survey on the general wine tourism in Armenia and its potential to foster rural development.

Due to the armed conflict in Syria that commenced in 2011 and is still ongoing while writing this article, Armenia has experienced a massive inflow of Syrian-Armenian refugees. The state was not prepared to provide the appropriate legal and logistical assistance to manage such a large flow of refugees and returning Armenians. It was also ill-prepared to ensure their resettlement and proper integration into Armenia's society. As a result, in 2012, the government put forward immigration and resettlement policies specifically designed to deal with the Syrian-Armenians fleeing the Syrian conflict. This chapter aimed to capture the results from a conceptual framework we developed to document and assess the Syrian-Armenian integration experience. The framework is based on expert interviews, in-depth interviews and document analysis. Main findings: Syrian-Armenian refugees experience different challenges and choose different ways to overcome them. The older age group tends to experience increased difficulties in integrating into their host communities, while the younger generations adapt easier to their new environment. The younger generations are better equipped for social and economic changes and are less stuck in poverty. For Syrian-Armenian women, their new environment seems safer. Most feel at ease regarding public attitudes towards them and are, for the most, satisfied with their employment choices. Those with a high school education tend to seek lower paying jobs, and the outliers from the highest and lowest socioeconomic status tend to leave Armenia. Many return to Syria as the conflict winds down in certain areas or decide to travel to another country.

This paper examines the introduction of neoliberal policies in the mining sector in Armenia and the civil society opposition to those policies and practices. While recognizing that neoliberal policies have global reach, the paper examines how neoliberal policies are locally translated, manifested, and resisted in Armenia and analyzes the factors that shape resistance to neoliberal policies. It argues that the anti-mining activists have created new subjectivities and spaces for activism where they resist and challenge neoliberal policies and practices in the mining sector as well as the heretofore accepted formal practices of civil society advocacy and engagement in policy processes. Although the anti-mining activists have not changed the way mining is practiced in Armenia, they have opened up debates around mining, and neoliberal policies more generally, and created new understandings and practices of civic activism and social mobilization in Armenia.

Teacher training is significant for effective school disaster management. The purposes of this paper are: first, to set items for analysis of teacher training program of Armenia through identification of teacher training program of Emergency And Rescue Team by school staff in Hyogo (EARTH) to understand the characteristics of teacher training program of Armenia; second, to identify common points and different points of school disaster management and teacher training between EARTH and Armenia to understand the characteristics of one of training program of Japan; and third, to propose improvement of teacher training of Armenia through identification of problems to give suggestions to improve teacher training program of Armenia.

One of teacher training program for school disaster management in Japan can be considered as a good practice. The objectives are achieved through the comparison of teacher training program between Armenia and Japan.

In Armenia, there are three training targets. Training contents should be developed after the clear concept development of training for each target. This paper proposed the concept based on EARTH training program. Normalization of school including psychological care is the main contents for school directors and deputy directors. Disaster management system and disaster management drill are the contents for military science teachers. Disaster education is the main contents for general teachers.

This paper considered mainstreaming school disaster management from the aspect of teacher training and application of training program to other countries.

To apply the Porter “Diamond Model” to the case of Armenia, a small and land‐locked economy, in order to draw conclusions about its current situation, future prospects and appropriate development policies.

The paper analyses the shape of the Armenian “National Diamond” drawing on published statistical data and the authors' familiarity with the country.

Although controversial, the “Diamond Model” provides a useful basis for making appropriate policy recommendations for fostering competitiveness. The authors conclude that while achieving the required legislative and institutional framework, market liberalization and a stable macroeconomic environment are necessary, they are not sufficient conditions for ensuring continued economic growth and the achievement of sustainable development. In particular, based on the “Diamond Model” framework, they advocate Government policies to attract foreign direct investment with the objective of creating new industrial “clusters”.

The case study demonstrates that, despite possible limitations, the “Diamond Model” provides a valuable starting‐point for analysing appropriate development policy in emerging markets such as Armenia.

This is the first case study of its type written about Armenia. It is of value not only as a guide to policy‐makers in Armenia but also as a model for development specialists and policy‐makers in other industrializing economies.

The major uncertainties about the eventual success of macroeconomic stabilization measures, the eventual ownership and control of privatized enterprises, the viability of certain enterprises and sectors can have significant influence on the market economy of Armenia during the transition period. In the face of these uncertainties, inadequate transport and access to markets remain major obstacles to economic development and employment. After liberalization in 1991, consumer subsidies were eliminated and consequently food prices rose. Local price increases combined with the decline in real income and out migration led to a fall in domestic demand for food products as well as significant changes in food consumption patterns. Possibly the chief obstacle to increasing farm income and the most difficult problem for food processing companies to overcome are the marketing constraints. There is no appropriate scale marketing and transport infrastructure for small farmers. The lack of market information system is another problem, resulting in many farmers producing the same crops which were previously profitable, causing a glut. The break‐up of collective agriculture in Armenia resulted in over 300,000 small diversified farms which grow five or more crops and have two or more animal species. With limited export markets, the country lacks adequate markets for much of its agricultural production, as well as the economies of scale for the investments in agri‐processing and manufacturing industry which are necessary to stimulate employment and farm income. Armenia is in a prime position to take advantage of the organic market opportunities. If the developed world is going to subsidize organic food production, Armenia may have competitive advantage with low cost production and very little use of fertilizers, pesticides and other restricted materials for the last ten years.