@karena1.bsky.social
Eurasian politics and foreign affairs, covering Russia, former Soviet space, Turkey and Syria. I focus on conflicts, political crises & narratives. Senior Analyst RCDS.am. Member @fromtheperiphery.com. Fellow thersa.org. Substack: itskarena.com
I spoke with @essssraaa.bsky.social about Azerbaijan’s expansionist agenda toward Armenia, the growing divide between the Armenian government and people’s lived realities, historical memory, and comparisons to Palestine. It’s one of my favorite episodes. Do give it a listen!
Syria: One year on after the fall of Assad
On From the Periphery Podcast
www.patreon.com/posts/145397...
Here I am with the thoughtful and brilliant @aymanmak.bsky.social and @leilashami.bsky.social talking all things Syria one year after Assad’s fall
Recently, I spoke to @karena1.bsky.social for @fromtheperiphery.com about Azerbaijani's president's expansionist statements. We explore the stark difference between lived reality and govt stories, historical memory suppression, trauma, & draw parallels to Palestine.
www.patreon.com/posts/ilham-...
Called it
How do we keep showing up when it feels like nothing is changing and when we're burned out? Together with @aymanmak.bsky.social & @karena1.bsky.social we spoke about Palestine Solidarity Against the Odds on @fromtheperiphery.com
www.patreon.com/posts/ftpp-8...
Random, but I’m still looking for stable employment (research/analysis/writing/teaching) and I’m happy to send along my CV in English/French. Job has to be in the UK, Canada or online.
It is quite a feat to be able to write a long article on the lack of popularity of political leaders and avoid talking about actual politics
Little context, nothing about power or ideology
Democracy is just management and it's worked so well so far...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
I cannot help but think of the Armenian genocide where repeated forced displacements were a core part of destroying an entire people
Israel is bombing Gaza City as Netanyahu orders Palestinians to "leave now" www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblo...
The horror journalist Mariam Dagga photographed in the last months of her life. The last one is from the hospital where she was killed today. Curated by @apnews.com editors apnews.com/photo-galler...
Democrats writing letters
A week after Azerbaijan’s 2023 attack on Artsakh, Israel’s assault on Gaza began. As Gaza’s suffering exposed the limits of human rights and international law, a friend, whose family is from Artsakh, said: “It’s when I realized how f*cked we are.”
My piece on the need for solidarity in these times
Good piece from @natachadanon.bsky.social on what people in Sweida say the central government must do to regain their trust.
The government is hemorrhaging faith, particularly from minority groups, and seems unwilling or unable to confront the more extreme factions
syriadirect.org/is-there-a-r...
Hear me talk with @leilashami.bsky.social about my time in NE Syria, also known as Rojava, speaking with Islamized Armenians, descendants of survivors of the Armenian Genocide who were forcibly ‘assimilated’ during and after 1915. And listen to the other episodes of her podcast!
In the latest episode of @syriapodcast.bsky.social I'm joined by @karena1.bsky.social to talk about the experiences of Islamized Armenians in Northeast Syria. Available on all podcast apps or here:
fromtheperiphery.com/2025/07/30/s...
I needed to hear this episode today ❤️ if anything just to know what I'm feeling is felt by others
The Gaza famine and genocide cannot become the new normal. The latest episode of The Fire These Times is now available everywhere.
With @ayoub.bsky.social @leilashami.bsky.social @danielvoskoboynik.bsky.social @essssraaa.bsky.social & @karena1.bsky.social
www.patreon.com/posts/135258...
i find myself regularly reminding people that not one single German was severely punished for simply refusing to contribute to the Holocaust
Bye forever, WeTransfer.
the stories that come out of the ICE camps are going to look like the stories that come out of every camp system; rampant corruption, epidemic disease, physical and sexual abuse on a vast scale, a death rate far higher than normal, and medical abuses.
So the head of the BBC is implying that British Jews are somehow connected to a chant about the Israeli army?
Does the BBC apologise to British Muslims when armies of self-described Muslim states are criticised?
How are we still at this level of the discourse?
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...
loved this conversation and so appreciate the space for independent thought @thefirethesetimes.com has created
My @civilnet.bsky.social interview on my trip to Northeast Syria (AANES), where I met with Islamized Armenians reclaiming their identity
Zohran Mamdani hasn’t said anything negative about Jewish people or cheered on their suffering. Yet these 4 demand he “distance himself” from such rhetoric.
They, however, have *all* expressed support for a government that’s committing a genocide & killed Americans. Will they “distance” themselves?
“In Pasadena last week, a man stepped out of his unmarked vehicle at an intersection, unholstered his pistol and aimed it at a group of pedestrians before returning to his car… That incident left the police chief of Pasadena resigned to figure out whether it was a crime or part of a federal raid.”
Dr. Karena Avedissian, political scientist and researcher, shares insights from her recent visit to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, also known as Rojava.
@karena1.bsky.social