Our last question was, "Which spheres require urgent reforms?" We suggested a few spheres to focus on: the political system, the economic system, the judicial system, education and mass media. Typically, we receive a similar distribution of answers on both the Armenian and English Civilitas sites. This time, however, we had interestingly different results. Fifty percent of the respondents on the English-language site chose the political system as the primary sector requiring urgent reform. About 23percent chose the education system, followed by the judicial system, the economy, and the media landscape. In contrast, the votes on the Armenian page were more or less evenly distributed: 34percent said the primary focus of reform should be the education system, while roughly the same amount, 31percent, indicated that the priority should be the political system, followed by the judicial system, the economy and the mass media, respectively.

One can't help but compare these responses to our English-speaking visitors. No reform will be effective if the political system is not productive and if proper checks and balances don't exist in the country, if everything -- the government, political power, and money -- is centralized at the top. This closed political system, while being praised as "semi-free" by prestigious international organizations, cannot bring about reform, not in the economic sphere, not in the judicial system, not in any other realm.

On the other hand, parallel reforms of the political system are critical for the reform of the other spheres that are indicated as a priority by the readers of our site's Armenian section. Furthermore, one can state that without reforms in the education system, without an informed, active and engaged society that understands the complexities in the political and social choices that need to be made, reforms within the political sphere will be difficult  and inadequate. Reforming the economic system depends upon the reforms within the first two realms. Only a society comprised of literate, educated, and knowledgeable people who value entrepreneurials, who are willing to take risks, who comprehend the global system and its evolution, who can strategically plan and evolve, only they can move forward economically, especially in a country with so few resources at its disposal.

With regards to the media landscape, on the one hand it should facilitate and discuss the need for these reforms. On the other hand, it's obvious that the shortcomings of the  educational reforms of the past 20 years have left their mark on the present media landscape, in conjunction with the lack of freedoms determined by the current political system. And finally, without an independent judicial system, there is no hope in a final objective, fair solution. Confidence in such arbitration is key to an open educational and economic society. Yet a free political system is necessary in order to allow an independent judicial system to take root and flourish, to act and speak freely and courageously.

To summarize, it's obvious there are problems in all directions, and they are stifling progress and development within the country. Where do we begin to address these issues? From the political system -- while simultaneously addressing the remaining problems.