Armenia and Karabagh: the struggle for unity /

The Minority Rights Group is a British organization committed to securing ^D["justice for minority (and non-dominant majority) groups suffering discrimination.^D]" It is no surprise, therefore, that the contributors to this collection present a brief for the Armenian position vis-a-vis those who have abused that ancient people. The first half of the volume is a summary history of the Armenians and the oppression they experienced, especially at the hands of the Turks and Soviets. The second half offers background and an update of the crisis centered in Nagarno-Karabakh since 1988. Clearly written, with maps and footnotes, the text presents a quick, albeit one-sided, introduction to a little understood phenomenon: Armenian nationalism. Acceptance of the 1990 declaration of an independent Republic of Armenia as a fait accompli seems a little premature, but the general reader can profit from this work. Ronald G. Suny's Armenia in the Twentieth Century (1983), although less broad and less current, is a more balanced general introduction.