When Elites Opt Out: Military Service and Social Inequality in Armenia

08.04.2026

In Armenia, representatives of the authorities from time to time make statements that directly affect the prestige of military service and public attitudes toward the army. Particular attention was drawn to remarks by the chairman of the parliamentary committee on defense and security, Andranik Kocharyan, who stated that his son, who has not served in the army, is “a very high-class guy,” and that with such knowledge, people would not serve in the army.

 

Such statements by a public official are especially troubling in the wake of the failed initiative by MP Hayk Sargsyan, which had sought to introduce the option of paid exemption from military service. In public discourse, the proposal was widely described as a mechanism for creating an “army of the poor,” as it would have effectively established a system in which wealthier segments of society could legally avoid service, while less affluent citizens remained the main manpower base of the armed forces.

 

Andranik Kocharyan’s statements send an extremely negative signal to the public. In essence, he openly conveys the idea that the army is not a place for the intellectual elite—among whom he evidently counts his own family—but rather for the uneducated strata of society.

 

Paradoxically, such a thesis comes from a person who heads the parliamentary committee on defense and security and, by virtue of his role, is supposed to address key problems facing the army, one of which is the shortfall in conscripts. Although Armenia’s Ministry of Defense reports that the number of conscripts has increased by 25.3% over the past three years, these figures remain far from the optimal annual intake.

 

Both Andranik Kocharyan and Hayk Sargsyan are members of Armenia’s ruling party, and such initiatives and statements inevitably affect the level of trust in the armed forces and the already low prestige of military service.

 

A modern army is about technology. It requires not only physical training but also a high level of education and intellectual capacity. Today’s army involves cybersecurity, unmanned systems, intelligence and analytics, precision weaponry, and advanced communication and command systems.

 

In the context of rearming Armenia’s military and gradually transitioning to new standards of training and warfare, the role of educated specialists becomes critically important. Mastering modern equipment, implementing new command systems, developing unmanned technologies, and working with digital communication and intelligence systems all require qualified personnel—engineers, IT specialists, analysts, and operators of complex weapons systems. Any modernization of the armed forces directly depends on human capital. Modern weapons require not only procurement and public display during election campaigns, but also competent operation, maintenance, data analysis, and tactical application.

 

Without educated specialists, it is impossible to build an effective defense system.

 

The experience of Israel

 

A telling example is Israel, where military service is regarded as a key element of the state system and national consolidation.

 

The army includes representatives from various social and intellectual strata: children of politicians, students from leading universities, engineers and programmers, as well as future entrepreneurs and managers.

 

Many founders and executives of companies such as Check Point Software Technologies and Mobileye, as well as the creators of the Waze application, have completed military service, including in technological and intelligence units, where they gained experience in high-tech fields, project management, and strategic thinking—skills they later applied in business and the innovation economy.

 

The army provided them with experience working with advanced technologies, project management skills, access to professional networks, and helped cultivate strategic thinking, discipline, and a high level of responsibility.

 

The political level is particularly illustrative: leaders of political parties and heads of government in Israel have all completed military service. Many began their careers in junior positions and rose through the ranks to become officers, generals, and commanders before moving into politics or public administration. In Israel, the army serves as an institution that shapes the national elite and unites society around the idea of shared responsibility for security.

 

Against this backdrop, a natural question arises: what exceptional intellectual and professional abilities must the son of a deputy from Armenia’s ruling party possess for military service to be considered unacceptable for him, when individuals who have played key roles in politics and the economy, and who have created globally significant technological companies and innovations, have served in the military and viewed it as an important stage in their professional development?

 

A choice for Armenia

 

In some democratic countries with mandatory conscription, there is strict adherence to draft rules, with no distinctions between social classes. Service is mandatory for all physically fit citizens. Criminal liability, fines, and special taxes are imposed on draft dodgers. While in those countries compliance is strictly enforced and violations are punished, in Armenia even existing formal measures against draft evasion are in practice largely ineffective or very weak. The government also does not implement restrictive or incentive measures in response to the growing trend of males renouncing Armenian citizenship before reaching the age of 18.

 

Amid demographic, military-political, and social challenges, Armenia faces a fundamental choice: to build an army of equal citizens, where all segments of society serve, or to move toward a model in which the army becomes the responsibility only of socially vulnerable groups. Initiatives for paid exemption from service, as well as statements by high-ranking officials suggesting that educated members of their families need not serve, clearly demonstrate a serious crisis in how the army is perceived within society.

 

Despite sociological surveys in Armenia, where the army traditionally ranks high in public trust, practice suggests otherwise. If the highest echelons of the political elite view the army as something to distance themselves from, and society seeks to avoid service by any means, then the level of national consolidation and shared responsibility for the country’s defense remains extremely low.

 

A strong army is built on the principles of participation from all social strata and the involvement of intellectual talent. It is precisely this model that creates a sustainable system of national security.

 

Eduard Arakelyan

RCDS

The article was originally published on Civilnet.