Yevgenya Jenny Paturyan is an Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the American University of Armenia and Assistant Director of the Turpanjian Center for Policy Analysis at the same university since 2011. Previously she worked at Caucasus Research Resources Centers, Armenia. She received her PhD in Political Science from Jacobs University Bremen, Germany in 2009. Her main academic interests are in civil society, volunteering, the democratization of post-communist countries, and corruption. Valentina Gevorgyan is a PhD student of Political Science at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland and Civil Society Program Coordinator at Open Society Foundations, Armenia. Prior to that, she was a Senior Researcher at the Turpanjian Center for Policy Analysis, part of the American University of Armenia. Her academic interest focuses on the role of civil society in the development of public policy agenda and the promotion of human rights in hybrid regimes. Her doctoral research aims to provide a deeper understanding of the contemporary relationship between civil society and governmental institutions in Armenia.