While CRRC is known for its Caucasus Barometer, in Winter 2011, a Central Asian survey was conducted to look at access to justice in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. (Here are the data files and methodological notes.)
These analyses are only on the issues related to women in Central Asia. There is a lot more in this dataset.
With recent reports about sex ratio imbalance in Armenia, a quick analysis of the Caucasus Barometer brings insight into the state of women in Armenia.
Armenians certainly prefer boys, especially in rural areas. But even in regional cities and Yerevan, nearly half of Armenians state a preference for a boy.
Moreover, Armenians (and Azerbaijanis and Georgians) raise their boys and girls differently, as shown in the slide.
And once a woman has grown up, few Armenians are comfortable with her living apart from her family if she is unmarried. There is slightly greatly acceptance of this idea among capital females though. (And in the near future, I’ll look at this vis-a-vis age!)
Sex before marriage is widely viewed as unacceptable in Armenia, but again capital females are slightly more tolerance of the idea. (And again, I need to look at this vis-a-vis age.)
However, living together before marriage has SOME acceptance amongst Yerevantsis, but overall the practice is viewed as unacceptable.
So all-in-all, do Armenians think that men or women have a better life? Interestingly, the results are mixed and there aren’t great regional or gender differences.
Is there a “migration crisis” in the Caucasus?
Maybe! There seems to be an increase in interest in migration in Armenia and in Azerbaijan and Georgia, while interest is high, it remains relatively stable.
Based on the Caucasus Barometer, 40% of Georgians, half of Azerbaijanis, and 59% of Armenians are interested in temporary migration
(This is a 9% increase in Armenia since 2008, but no such change in Azerbaijan or Georgia, although in 2009, all 3 Caucasus states saw a decrease in interest in temporary migration.)
Furthermore, 7% of Georgians, 17% of Azerbaijanis, and 26% of Armenians are interested in permanent migration.
(These rates in Azerbaijan and Georgia have remained somewhat stable, while Armenia has seen a 10% increase between 2009 and 2010).
So who are these people that want to leave?
Certainly in Armenia there is a trend toward desire to migrate.
Two-thirds of Yerevan residents are interested in temporary migration, regardless of gender. Nearly 60% of urban city and rural Armenians are interested as well. These are increases from 2008 and 2009 when about half of all Armenians wanted to temporarily migrate.
In Armenia, there are not major regional or gender differences in interest to migrate permanently.
In Azerbaijan, interest in migration varies year-to-year.
In Azerbaijan, interest in temporary migration is primarily a male interest, and rural females are the least likely to be interested in temporary migration.
Permanent migration is less popular in Azerbaijan, again especially amongst rural females.
In Georgia as well, interest in migration changes year-to-year, but overall interest in permanent migration is quite low.
How do Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians feel about the direction in which their countries are headed?
The 2010 Caucasus Barometer tells us that opinions on this are mixed.
Few people in any of the three countries think that their country is definitely headed in the right direction (3% Armenia, 11% Azerbaijan, 11% Georgia), although some think that their countries are headed somewhat in the right direction (15% Armenia, 27% Azerbaijan, 33% Georgia).
In Armenia, over a third (37%) feel that their country is headed in the wrong direction. Only 10 percent of Azerbaijanis feel this way though and 18 percent of Georgians.
Interestingly, many people aren’t sure. Nearly 20 percent of Azerbaijanis (19%) and Georgians (18%) say that they don’t know what direction their countries are headed in. Only 15 percent of Armenians aren’t sure.
This is a study that I did with the 2008 (collected in fall) Caucasus Barometer. As a warning, it is pretty stats-heavy. If you’re going to cite this paper, please use this citation:
Pearce, K.E. (2010). Political trust in the post-coup attempt Republic of Armenia. Demokratizatsiya, 19, 58-83.
Abstract:
This paper presents a model of institutional political trust in Armenia after a coup attempt. The model of political trust was created using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicated strong support for a three-factor model with civil society, elected government and non-elected government as factors.
This analysis was conducted on the 2007 Caucasus Barometer on questions dealing with approval of being friends with, doing business with, and marrying other nationalities/ethnic groups. (I apologize that this is more “statistics-y” than other posts. I did this analysis for a statistics class assignment a few years ago but thought that people might be interested so I posted it as is.)
According to the 2010 Caucasus Barometer, people in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have strong opinions about how their governments treat citizens.
Three-quarters of Armenians (74%) do not believe that the Armenian government treats its citizens fairly (half strongly believe this and half somewhat believe this).
Half of Azerbaijanis and 43 percent of Georgians think that their government doesn’t treat people fairly.
Interestingly, few are completely sure that their governments treat people fairly, 4 percent in Armenia and 9 percent in Azerbaijan and Georgia.
People in the Caucasus think that their court systems favor some people over others, according to the 2010 Caucasus Barometer.
Over half of Armenians (54%) and Azerbaijanis (57%) believe that this, and 43 percent of Georgians do.
And while those that say that they don’t know are high in each country (10% of Armenians, 18% of Azerbaijanis, and 27% of Georgians), those that are sure and certain that there is favorship.
Why don’t Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians think that their court systems are fair?
One reason may be judges. While most people in the Caucasus do not trust judges, there are many that are neutral or unsure.
Moreover, many believe that the court systems are under the influence of the government. Very few people in any of the three countries think that the court systems are independent.
Furthermore, many also believe that high officials are not publish when they break the law.
Do Caucasians feel that they have the right to express themselves publicly?
Not so much! While many Georgians (61%) think so, in Armenia and Azerbaijan, public opinion is mixed on this topic.
South Caucasians aren’t so sure if their national elections are conducted fairly. Only half of Armenians (50%) and Azerbaijanis (46%) feel that the last election was fair. Nearly two-third of Georgians (63%), however, feel that their last election was fair. Interestingly, over a third of Armenians (46%) are certain that the last election wasn’t fair, while Azerbaijanis and Georgians are mixed between thinking that the election wasn’t fair and not being sure.
As to the reasons why they think that the elections aren’t fair, please look at the slides for responses on a number of items. Of particular interest is the high number of “don’t knows” from Azerbaijani and Georgian respondents. Armenians, whether they believe that different aspects of elections are fair or not, are certainly “more certain” than their neighbors are.
Most Armenians and Georgians believe that they’ll vote in the next national election. Azerbaijanis, however, aren’t so apt to vote, with over half (57%) saying that they don’t think that they’ll vote. Furthermore, only half of Azerbaijanis (48%) are sure that they’d vote in a presidential election (if it were to happen next week – which it won’t!). Nearly two-thirds of Armenians (64%) and Georgians (62%) are sure that they’d vote in a presidential election.