At SSRN, I’ve posted a draft essay on the role of Christian interest groups in U.S. policy toward Armenia, historically and today. The draft, which I wrote this past summer before the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno Karabakh, will appear in a forthcoming collection of essays, Armenia and the Community of States (Georgi Asatryan ed.) (forthcoming 2024). Here’s the abstract:

International Relations scholarship has begun to focus on the influence of religious interest groups on foreign policy. In this draft, written in the summer of 2024 for a forthcoming collection of essays, I explore the impact of Christian groups on United States policy on Armenia, historically and today. During the Armenian Genocide 100 years ago, Christian groups mobilized a massive private relief campaign for Armenians but could not secure U.S. government support for the fledgling Armenian Republic. Today, Christian groups are trying once again to secure greater U.S. support for Armenia in connection with the Karabakh conflict. Although these groups have achieved some success, in the current domestic and geopolitical climate, securing greater U.S. government support has proven challenging—even in the context of an ethnic cleansing campaign. If Christian groups are to succeed, history suggests they must find a way to cast their arguments principally in terms of U.S. interests in the changing South Caucasus rather than humanitarian concerns or Christian solidarity.