Search

Begin New Search Political Geography Azerbaijan

61. The Evolution of Azerbaijani Identity and the Prospects of Secessionism in Iranian Azerbaijan

Author:
Emil Souleimanov
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
Conventional wisdom has it that Azerbaijanis, the largest ethnic minority in Iran, have historically tended to identify themselves with notions of Iranian statehood and Shiite religion rather than ethnic nationalism, a fact that has made them loyal subjects of Persian states. Yet recent years have shown a considerable growth of their Azerbaijani Turkic self-consciousness as part of their effort to achieve ethno-linguistic emancipation, an emancipation sometimes bordering on separatism and irredentism. Recent developments over the Tabriz-based Tractor Sazi football club (TSFC) and Lake Urmia have provided a further impetus to such developments that offer the potential to endanger the territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This article is an attempt to highlight the evolution of self-consciousness of Iranian Azerbaijanis in recent decades, shedding light on the key issues that have caused this evolution with the aim of exploring the prospects of Azerbaijani secessionism or anti-regime sentiments in the strategically important northwest region of Iran inhabited by ethnic Azerbaijanis.
Political Geography:
Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Persia, and Urmia

62. Azerbaijan in Transition

Author:
Jens Hölscher
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Azerbaijan has been the fastest growing economy of the world and it increasingly attracts the interest of foreign investors. This paper analyses the Azerbaijani economy in transition from communism to capitalism over the past decade with a focus on investment climate. Facts and figures of the apparent economic miracle are presented and a number of political obstacles considered. Azerbaijan's transition towards a market economy has not gone very far and it is mainly slowed down by low levels of trust and high levels of corruption. There are also human rights issues and freedom or press is limited. Unless and until Azerbaijan deals with these problems, shadows will continue to loom over its economic miracle.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Caucasus and Azerbaijan

63. Resource Management and Transition in Central Asia, Azerbaijan, and Mongolia

Author:
Richard Pomfret
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The paper presents a comparative analysis of the resource-rich transition economies of Mongolia and the southern republics of the former Soviet Union. For Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the ability to earn revenue from cotton exports allowed them to avoid reform. Oil in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was associated with large-scale corruption, but with soaring revenues in the 2000s their institutions evolved and to some extent improved. Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia illustrate the challenges facing small economies with large potential mineral resources, with the former suffering from competition for rents among the elite and the latter from lost opportunities. Overall the countries illustrate that a resource curse is not inevitable among transition economies, but a series of hurdles need to be surmounted to benefit from resource abundance. Neither the similar initial institutions nor those created in the 1990s are immutable.
Topic:
Corruption, Economics, Oil, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan

64. South Caucasus: What Prospects after Twenty Years of "Managed Instability"?

Author:
Alain Guidetti
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
Twenty years after the fall of the Soviet Union and the independence of the three Caucasian Republics of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, the region remains characterized by a state of “managed instability” due to the absence of solutions to the conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan (over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh) and between Georgia and Russia (over territorial issues and political differences). Negotiation mechanisms aimed at solving these issues exist (since 1992 for Nagorno-Karabakh, and since 1991 for Georgia), but they do not appear to produce meaningful results, raising questions on the purpose of these mechanisms and the future of the region beyond the lasting status quo. A movement toward deeper instability in the region, which cannot be excluded, would pose a direct security threat to Europe, as well as to Russia.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Cold War, Territorial Disputes, and Self Determination
Political Geography:
Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

65. Tableau de bord des pays d'Europe centrale et orientale et d'Eurasie 2011 (Volume 2)

Author:
Jean-Pierre Pagé
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:
Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia Dashboard 2011 (Volume 2)
Topic:
Markets, Political Economy, Politics, Governance, Finance, and Regional Integration
Political Geography:
Russia, Central Asia, Ukraine, Caucasus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Eastern Europe, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Central Europe, and Belarus

66. Azerbaijan: Vulnerable Stability

Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Ilham Aliyev's presidency has been marked by stabilisation of the political life of the country and economic growth driven by oil exports. This stability, however, has come with the consolidation of authoritarian rule, greater suppression of freedoms and an increased reliance by elites on corruption and patronage networks to dominate virtually all aspects of public life. With a marginalised and demoralised opposition, little independent media and rent-seeking elites who have vested interests in the preservation of his power, Ilham Aliyev has a level of control over society that his father never possessed. The international community has little leverage with which to pressure the regime, but it should do more to persuade the leadership to see that even its own self-interests lie in gradual but genuine liberalisation.
Topic:
Corruption, Government, Human Rights, Politics, and Governance
Political Geography:
Azerbaijan

67. The Evolution of US Policy towards the Southern Caucasus

Author:
S. Neil MacFarlane and George Khelashvili
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
This article examines the evolution of American policy in the Southern Caucasus since 1991. It begins with a discussion of the principal drivers of that policy. A discussion of the evolution of the policy since the end of the Cold War follows. The article argues that US policy in the region has been ad hoc and inconsistent, reflecting ideological considerations (democracy promotion in Georgia), economic interests (access to Caspian Basin energy product and the development of US relations with Azerbaijan), US minority lobbying (US policy towards the Karabagh conflict), and idiosyncratic leadership preference (the personal relationship between Presidents Bush and Saakashvili). This amalgam reflected the weakness of strategic drivers and notably Russia's inability to act on its hegemonic aspirations in the region. As Russian power increases, and its effort to rebuild its influence in the Southern Caucasus grows, the strategic framing of US policy may also be expected to strengthen.
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and South Caucasus

68. 1995 was a Good Year for the South Caucasus

Author:
Gerard J. Libaridian
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
The article discusses the inter-ethnic conflicts in the South Caucasus while focusing on the policies of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and offers an illuminating account on the role of leadership in conflict resolution while taking into account domestic, regional and international settings. The author considers 1995 as the first year of stabilized region and discusses the reasons why this rare opportunity for conflict resolution in the South Caucasus offered by 1995 was not realized.
Political Geography:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and South Caucasus

69. Foreign Policies of the States of the Caucasus: Evolution in the Post-Soviet Period

Author:
Brenda Shaffer
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
The article examines the development of the foreign policies and strategies of the three states of the Caucasus-Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia—in the post-Soviet period. The article claims that ideology and identity have had little impact on the alliances and foreign policy orientations adopted by the three states. Second, the three states of the Caucasus adopted fundamentally different policies toward Russia. Third, geographic factors have had significant influence on their foreign policy options. Fourth, managing the results of the secessionist conflicts has been a major goal of their foreign policy efforts and the conflicts are a useful lever of neighboring powers. Fifth, the foreign policy making capability of the three states has expanded significantly. Last, the foreign policy options of the three states have been limited by the policies of the major powers in the region.
Political Geography:
Caucasus, Soviet Union, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

70. Post-Soviet Political Transformation in Azerbaijan: Political Elite, Civil Society and the Trials of Democratization

Author:
Ayça Ergun
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
The aim of this article is to analyze the process of post-Soviet transformation in Azerbaijan while focusing on the process of democratization, peculiarities of the leadership and political elite, success and failure in electoral politics, and development of civil society. I argue that the politics of the post-independence period was shaped by the conflicting co-existence of patterns of continuity and change which determined the path of political transformation in Azerbaijan.
Political Geography:
Soviet Union and Azerbaijan