Your trusted source

The Financial Times has published an analysis of the concept “Quantum politics” through an interview with Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, who as the paper says, has been studying the phenomenon in practice and in theory and is “one of the very few heads of state to be a theoretical physicist.”

U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent UN General Assembly speech and the laugh reaction has served an occasion for the analysis. “Rather than sneering at Trump, we should perhaps be studying him. He may be one of the first leaders to have grasped the essence of quantum politics.” reads the article.

President Sarkissian has noted that the interpretation of how politics traditionally works should be updated to reflect the way that physics has been reimagined. In his words the quantum world is highly uncertain and interconnected and can change depending on the position of the observer. “A lot of things in our lives have quantum behaviour. We are living through a dynamic process of change,” the newspaper quotes the president.

it is noted that this new world, political parties, institutions, and reason-based processes appear less important than popular movements, beliefs, emotional connectivity and social media impact,” writes the paper. 

The newspaper doubts Trump’s as good understanding of quantum politics as President Sarkissian’s yet admits that Trump, who largely bypasses formal institutions and operates via Twitter, projecting his own version of reality to his 54.7m followers, can be another example of quantum politics.

In an interview with the newspaper, President Sarkissian has projected the theory into the recent events in Armenia, when during the April-May political events demonstrators served as “arbitrary soldiers” mobilized on Facebook, rather than members of an organized opposition, while the 10m-strong diaspora also influenced events from abroad.

“Armenia is a small state and a global nation,” Sarkissian has said. “Those living in California can see what is happening in their beloved country and react. This is another example of a new quantum quality.”
The newspaper also provides alternative opinion to the concept by Jim Al-Khalili, physics professor at the University of Surrey. The professor is skeptical of the parallels being drawn between quantum theory and modern politics. But he does agree with President Sarkissian that our world is becoming so hyper-complex that it is increasingly difficult to manage.