Pashinyan: 2026-2031 government program based on ‘Real Armenia,’ ‘Fourth Republic’ vision

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday said that his administration’s 2026-2031 program, which was published earlier in the day ahead of parliamentary debates, is entirely based on the ideology of “Real Armenia” and the vision of the “Fourth Republic.”

Last year, Prime Minister Pashinyan, in an address to the nation, unveiled the “Real Armenia” doctrine, a proposed plan for political and economic transformation.

Pashinyan has since said that the “Real Armenia” doctrine made peace with Azerbaijan possible.

The term “Fourth Republic” refers to the fact that the current Armenian state is colloquially known as the Third Republic of Armenia, as the successor to Soviet Armenia, which in turn followed the short-lived First Republic of Armenia (1918-1920).

“Based on the results of the June 7, 2026 elections, the ideology of Real Armenia ultimately won, which means that the ideology of Real Armenia has become the official ideology in the Republic of Armenia. Armenia is thus entering a stage of its history that we call the Fourth Republic,” Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting on Aug. 20.

He highlighted the importance of noting how the Third Republic differs from the Fourth Republic.

“The Third Republic was founded from the very first day on the logic of conflict and confrontation, while the Fourth Republic was formed on the logic of peace,” the prime minister said.

According to Pashinyan, the Third Republic, when it was proclaimed in the 1990s, established that the state’s goal, conditionally speaking, was to restore "historical justice."

“Certain actions also stemmed from this, and the Karabakh movement also arose from this concept. The Karabakh movement was one of the directions for the practical implementation of this concept,” he said.

The prime minister said that over the past eight years in office, the government has opened previously unopened pages, practical engagement with which has brought Armenia to the peace agenda.

According to him, the 2018 Velvet Revolution was carried out with specific agendas, but after taking over the governance of Armenia in mid-2018, the government was forced in 2019-2020 and the subsequent period to engage in crisis management, first as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and then the war and post-war situation.

“Much of our agenda was devoted to the logic of crisis management. This is why, objectively, it was not possible to devote to the agenda of the 2018 people's, nonviolent, Velvet Revolution the level of attention that, presumably, we had intended to devote to it in 2018-2019,” the prime minister said.

According to Pashinyan, peace and the new environment that has been formed provide an opportunity to fully return to the unimplemented part of the 2018 agenda.

“The good news is that during that period of crisis management, we never stopped implementing the reform agenda. We must continue and give new impetus to democratic, anti-corruption, economic and public administration reforms,” Pashinyan said.

The prime minister also noted that the government’s program is expected to be presented in greater detail in parliament.

“It is customary for us to discuss the government’s program in greater detail at a session of the National Assembly. Presumably, at the National Assembly session taking place next week, my colleagues and I will present a detailed report,” he said.