Armenia’s third review under the Stand-By Arrangement and its request for Waiver of Nonobservance of Performance Criterion are discussed. The uptick in inflation was largely driven by exogenous factors, but it is important that these do not feed into further inflationary expectations. The financial sector has been resilient to the crisis and almost all banks are well capitalized. The fiscal stimulus has appropriately supported the economy during the crisis and maintaining priority public spending has been critical for mitigating the impact of the crisis on the poor

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia has remained on the brink of on the brink of becoming an economic crossroads or an isolated backwater, a democratic or authoritarian state, a peaceful and prosperous country or a nation on the brink of conflict. Armenia's difficult independence is intricately linked with her transcaucasian neighbours, and whichever path she follows, they will undoubtedly be affected. Armenia: At the Crossroads considers Armenia as a nationa and as a state, and puts her tragic history into the context of current events since independence.

Interrelations between Public Policies, Migration and Development in Armenia is the result of a project carried out by the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC-Armenia) and the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with the State Migration Service (SMS) and with support from the EU...

There is a great deal of interest in the history of Armenia since its renewed independence in the 1990s and the ongoing debate about the genocide - an interest that informs the strong desire of a new generation of Armenian Americans to learn more about their heritage and has led to greater solidarity in the community. By integrating themes such as war, geopolitics, and great leaders, with the less familiar cultural themes and personal stories, this book will appeal to general readers and travellers interested in the region.

This edited collection examines the politics of semi-presidential countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Semi-presidentialism is the situation where there is both a directly elected fixed-term president and a prime minister and cabinet that are collectively responsible for the legislature. There are four countries with a semi-presidential constitution in this region - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan. The authors introduce the concept of semi-presidentialism, place the countries in a general post-Soviet context, and compare them with Kazakhstan. They investigate the relationship between semi-presidentialism in the formal constitution and the verticality of power in reality, explore the extent to which semi-presidentialism has been responsible for the relative performance of democracy in each country, and chart the relationship within the executive both between the president, prime minister and ministers, and between the executive and the legislature.

Now in a new format with a more current and topical focus on a country level. While the strength of the Yearbook has always been the comprehensive geographical remit, starting with volume 7 the reports primarily concentrate on more specific and topical information. The most current research available on public debates, transnational links, legal or political changes that have affected the Muslim population, and activities and initiatives of Muslim organizations from surveyed countries are available throughout the Yearbook. At the end of each country report, an annual overview of statistical and demographic data is presented in an appendix. By using a table format, up-to-date information is quickly accessible for each country. To see how these changes affect the articles, please read this sample chapter about Austria. The Yearbook of Muslims in Europe is an essential resource for analysis of Europe's dynamic Muslim populations. Featuring up-to-date research from forty-six European countries, the reports provide cumulative knowledge of on-going trends and developments around Muslims in different European countries. In addition to offering a relevant framework for original research, the Yearbook of Muslims in Europe provides an invaluable source of reference for government and NGO officials, journalists, policy-makers, and related research institutions.

There is no populated place without a name, and every name is chosen for a reason. This fascinating dictionary unveils the etymological roots and history of thousands of locations and landmarks from around the world. It contains over 11,000 entries, and covers an enormous range of country, region, island, city, town, mountain and river names from across the world, as well as the name in the local language. Place names are continually changing, and new names are adopted for many different reasons such as invasion, revolution, and decolonization. The Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names includes selected former names, and, where appropriate, some historical detail to explain the transition. The names of places often offer a real insight into the places themselves, revealing religious and cultural traditions, the migration of peoples, the ebb and flow of armies, the presence of explorers, local languages, industrial developments and topography. Superstition and legend can also play a part. This new edition has been updated to include over 750 new names, including Azincourt, Kropyvnyts'kyy , and Tlaxcala. It has also been edited to reflect socio-political and geographical shifts, notably the reorganisation of the French regions, and their consequent name alterations, as well as the decommunization of Ukrainian place-names. In addition to the entries themselves, the dictionary includes two appendices: a glossary of foreign word elements which appear in place-names and their meanings, and a list of personalities and leaders from all over the world who have influenced the naming of places.

As Cold War battle lines are seemingly re-drawn, Russia's various 'frozen' war zones (ongoing separatist conflicts) are often cited as particularly volatile and assumed by some Western commentators and policymakers to be 'next' on Putin's 'wish list'. But, as Helena Rytövuori-Apunen demonstrates here, this is a gross (and dangerous) oversimplification that will only serve to fuel the vicious circle of reciprocal military escalation. Drawing on a range of empirical research and across separatist conflicts in Georgia (South Ossetia and Abkhazia), Moldova (Transnistria and Gagauzia) and Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh) and the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, her timely book provides a balanced assessment and critique of the assumptions and misunderstandings that inform mainstream discussions, as well as placing the conflicts in their proper and complex historical contexts. At a time when there is an increasing tendency to view Russia as the source of all instability in Eastern Europe, Power and Conflict in Russia's Borderlands is essential reading for anyone interested in the geopolitics of post-Soviet Russia, as well as policymakers and practitioners of peace/conflict resolution studies.

Published since 1950, this authoritative, annual reference is based upon a unique IMF database that tracks exchange and trade arrangements for all 186 IMF member countries, along with Hong Kong SAR, Aruba, and the Netherlands Antilles. The Annual Report on Exchange Arrangements and Exchange Restrictions (AREAER) draws together information available to the IMF from a number of sources, including during official IMF staff visits to member countries. There is a separate chapter for each of the 189 countries included, and these are presented in a clear, easy-to-read tabular format. A summary table allows for simple cross-country comparisons of key features of their exchange and trade regimes. The report's introduction summarizes recent global trends and developments. It discusses such topical issues as exchange rate arrangements, current or capital transactions, or prudential regulations. The individual country chapters outline exchange measures in place, the structure and setting of exchange rates, arrangements for payments and receipts, procedures for resident and nonresident accounts, mechanisms for import and export payments and receipts, controls on capital transactions, and provisions specific to the financial sector. The report now provides more detailed information on the operations of foreign exchange markets and exchange rate mechanisms and better describes the regulatory framework for current and capital account transactions.