According to Global Militarization Index 2016, Armenia is the most militarized country in Europe and the third in the world. The level of militarization is calculated on a ratio of budget spending on education and health. “According to the draft budget of the next year spending on education and health will be reduced even more, so Armenia has all the prerequisites to take a higher and “honorary” place in the Global Militarization Index lists,” analyst Sargis Artsruni writes in Armenian First Informational.

Actually, this fact only creates concerns about the future of Armenia.

“First, militarized countries, as a rule, do not have strong civil societies, free economy, quality political system. With such a reputation Armenia cannot expect foreign investments. Business tries to stay away from militarized countries not only because they are in open or hidden conflicts with neighboring countries. Such countries are usually corrupt, with low level of governance and lack of justice. High level of militarization negatively affects the political image of Armenia, because foreign partners call into question the sincerity of the country’s peacekeeping initiatives.

However, in Armenia’s case militarization is not a form of content but the consequence of poverty. Due to objective reasons the Armenian government cannot save on defense, purchase of ammunition, and instead has to “slash” the budget lines that provide opportunities to get education or medicine for the society. This is, of course, the evidence of stagnation of the Armenian economy because if it had been developing naturally, and the public spending on humanitarian and social spheres had not been cut off, the level of militarization in Armenia would have not been so high and would not have concerned international or local observers. At a certain point, Global Militarization Index 2016 reveals the terrible poverty, rather than militarization of Armenia” – thinks the author.