Nobel Prize winner Daron Acemoglu joins Samvel Karapetyan against Pashinyan
Nobel laureate and prominent economist Daron Acemoglu has agreed to serve as an adviser to Our Way, the political movement founded by detained Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan.
In a video message shared by the movement, Acemoglu outlined his views on the potential directions for Armenia’s economic development and said he would contribute as an expert to drafting Our Way’s (Mer Dzevov) economic programme.
Movement coordinator Narek Karapetyan, the billionaire’s nephew, confirmed that Acemoglu would participate in the working group shaping their national development strategy, calling it ‘milestone partnership for rebuilding Armenia’s economy on modern foundations’.
Turkish-born Armenian–American Acemoglu, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is one of the world’s most-cited economists. He received the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics, shared with fellow researchers James Robinson and Simon Johnson, for their work on ‘the origins of prosperity and the political economy of development’. Their studies demonstrated how inclusive political and economic institutions foster sustainable growth, while extractive systems lead to stagnation — ideas popularised in Acemoglu and Robinson’s best-selling 2012 book Why Nations Fail
Following the 2018 Velvet Revolution, Acemoglu was courted by the new government, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan inviting Acemoglu to advise on economic reforms. However, Armenian media at the time reported disagreements over financial terms, which officials, including former Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan, denied. The government later said it had declined to follow Acemoglu’s proposed reform plan, effectively ending the engagement before it began.
The Our Way movement, founded by Samvel Karapetyan from detention, has become one of the most closely watched emerging political forces ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections. Karapetyan, owner of the Russia-based Tashir Group conglomerate and one of Armenia’s wealthiest figures, was arreste in June on charges of inciting ‘public calls to seize power’ after publicly defending the Armenian Apostolic Church during a government dispute with the clergy.
At a press conference in Yerevan on 9 October, Narek Karapetyan said Our Way would name its candidate for prime minister in three months, when the group formally registers as a political party.
‘We will do everything possible so that the Civil Contract party becomes the opposition,’ he declared. ‘We assure our citizens that our candidate will be acceptable to all’.
Asked whether he himself would run as the party’s candidate, Narek Karapetyan replied: ‘We’ll know in January’. He said negotiations with other political forces were ongoing, but suggested the group preferred to expand through individuals rather than party alliances.
‘Every professional with experience and clean hands can join us’, he said.
Narek Karapetyan acknowledged that his uncle’s imprisonment had hurt the movement’s visibility but claimed it also strengthened public sympathy.
‘Every extra day that Samvel Karapetyan remains in the KGB basement, the authorities lose what remains of their credibility in the eyes of the people’, he said.
Government supporters have accused Karapetyan of seeking to steer Armenia back toward Moscow’s orbit, suggesting he is ‘Moscow-sent’ with the aim to align the country with a Russia-led union. Responding to those claims, Narek Karapetyan said the movement is ‘committed to Armenia’s sovereignty’, supporting only ‘economic integration’ with partners, not political dependency.
‘We are the generation of independence. The Soviet Union collapsed irreversibly’, he said. ‘We are against any concept that questions our sovereignty. Relations with Russia are important, but Armenia must have a second strategic line of partnership’.
