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Begin New Search Political Geography South Caucasus Publication Year within 5 Years

41. Heydar Aliyev and the Building of Azerbaijani Statehood

Author:
Svante Cornell and S. Frederick Starr
Publication Date:
04-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
Heydar Aliyev, nation affirmer and state builder, was among the most significant statesmen of his era. Of humble origins in a place distant from Baku, he gained early prominence within his native Azerbaijan and then rose quickly in the Soviet hierarchy during the late 1960s. By the 1980s he was among the leading power players in Moscow and decisionmakers of the Soviet Union. This experience was crucial when he returned to lead his native Azerbaijan in the 1990s in far from ideal circumstances. Thanks to his strategic thinking and ability to chart a complex path among national, regional, and world leaders, Heydar Aliyev set Azerbaijan firmly on the track that led it to become the successful middle power it is today.
Topic:
History, Leadership, State Building, Post-Soviet Space, and Heydar Aliyev
Political Geography:
Azerbaijan and South Caucasus

42. Azerbaijan’s Impending Migration Challenge: How to Get Prepared and What to Expect

Author:
Tamilla Mammadova, Aynur Rahimli, and Parviz Sunatulloev
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
Azerbaijan’s migration policy framework has seen major developments in recent years, including the consolidation of migration-relevant legislation in its State Migration Code. Moreover, close cooperation with the UNHCR on asylum status determination is resulting in overall recognition rates comparable to those founds in some EU member states. All this is to be welcomed. In April 2018, an EU-funded study published by the Viennabased International Centre for Migration Policy Development titled “Baseline Study in Migration in Azerbaijan,” confirmed that the country is home to a large number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees, and other similar categories of people, due to the at-the-time ongoing conflict over Karabakh and surrounding territories with Armenia. Official statistics provided by the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs in 2017 put the number of IDPs at 789,000 and the number of refugees at 420,000— of these, 350,000 are identified as originating in Armenia and are, presumably, ethnic-Azerbaijanis. The 2016 figures provided by the UNHCR indicate 613,129 IDPs (this UN agency does not classify ethnic-Azerbaijani refugees from Armenia as “refugees” for methodological reasons). The numbers have not changed dramatically in the interim—in June 2022, that UNHCR’s IDP number was 654,839, although Azerbaijan’s flagship “Great Return to Karabakh” strategy aims to reverse the tragedy and hardship of displacement in the years to come, as discussed inter alia in several Analytic Policy Papers published by ADA University’s Institute for Development and Diplomacy as well as in essays appearing in the pages of Baku Dialogues by the likes of Nazrin Baghirova, Fariz Ismailzade, Aybaniz Ismayilova, Ruslan Suleymanov, and others. The UNHCR’s June 2022 report indicated that the number of registered refugees in Azerbaijan was 6,466, with most coming from Ukraine; another 3,585 persons were classified as stateless. Moreover, the number of asylum seekers from abroad has been very low. According to UNHCR data, a total of 2,277 foreigners applied for asylum in Azerbaijan between 2005 and 2015. Also according to the June 2022 UNHCR document, at the time of its publication there were 121 asylum seekers in the country, which is slightly below the annual average and may be a result of the fact that all of Azerbaijan’s land borders are presently closed (as part of a package of anti-coronavirus quarantine measures). Lastly, legal migrant inflows from foreign countries have considerably increased in the past several years, with tens of thousands of temporary and permanent residency permits being issued annually (the numbers decreased as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting worldwide lockdowns). Forecasts suggest those numbers will rise in the years to come.
Topic:
Refugees, Asylum, Migration Policy, and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP)
Political Geography:
Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and South Caucasus

43. Sustainable Agriculture in Aghali: The Smart Village Concept in the Great Return to Karabakh

Author:
Nazrin Baghirova
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
On 31 December 2022, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev delivered his annual televised address on the occasion of the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis and the New Year. One of his formulations serves as the political background to this essay: “the Great Return program is being successfully implemented. […] I am confident that hundreds of thousands of former displaced persons will return to their homeland in the nearest future.” The Great Return is a flagship state project to repopulate and rejuvenate the Karabakh and East Zangezur Economic Regions, which were liberated by Azerbaijan in 2020 thanks to its victory in the Second Karabakh War. This essay will examine how repatriated farmers can optimally utilize agricultural lands and water, gain access to equipment, fertilizers, and pesticides, and examine how they can gain access to agricultural retail markets thanks to technological innovation. The essay will focus on a pilot project being implemented in one part of Azerbaijan’s liberated lands, namely the Zangilan district, which is one of the five districts that since the administrative reforms of July 2021 belongs the East Zangezur Economic Region. A milestone was achieved on 27 May 2022, when Aliyev participated in the official opening of a “smart village” project in the village of Aghali located in Zangilan (the quotation that serves as this essay’s epigraph was pronounced by the president on that occasion). This ceremony marked the completion of the first stage of a green resettlement project that included 200 fully constructed residential buildings, the introduction of public services (ASAN services, banks, post office, hospital), a “smart” secondary school with a capacity for 360 pupils, a “smart” kindergarten for 60 children, modern infrastructure, a high-speed internet connection, and the Gilmed sewing factory. The state has also allotted agricultural fields to each household. (In the next phase of the project, the state plans to further expand the village and build 150 more homes, including two- and three-story apartment buildings.)
Topic:
Agriculture, Territorial Disputes, Conflict, Resettlement, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, and Nagorno-Karabakh

44. Time for an EU Foreign Policy Update? The EU and the Silk Road Region in Wartime

Author:
Samuel Doveri Vesterbye
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
The European Union has a short history of handling foreign policy when compared to other political actors on the international stage. Most others have a foreign policy tradition that dates back several decades, hundreds of years, or longer. The EU thus remains a paradox. This can be seen by contrasting two characteristic sets of facts. On the one hand, it has established 140 embassies (“delegations”) worldwide and states that it is the single-largest global donor of international development aid. The EU is China’s second biggest trade partner (and America’s biggest trade partner), and its 447-million population continues to set many of the world’s trade and regulatory standards (it is not without cause often described as a “regulatory superpower”). On the other hand, the EU’s foreign policy administration, known as the European External Action Service (EEAS), has existed for barely a decade and a half. In fact, its competences in international relations only date back to the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, while its instruments, strategies, and external budgets remain less than two decades old. With the exception of the EU’s enlargement policy, the EU’s foreign policy strategies—the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and the Global Strategy— only date back to 2004 and 2015, respectively. It is within this context that we must understand and analyze both the successes and challenges that the EU’s nascent foreign policy faces today. This essay first describes what is generally understood to be the EU’s foreign policy, including policies, strategies, and instruments. This is followed by an analysis of how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed the EU’s geopolitical and geo-economic thinking and thereby also its inherent foreign policy positions and interests. The third part briefly analyses how certain policies—namely the accession policy in the specific case of Türkiye and the Eastern P a r t n e r s h i p (EaP)—face serious challenges as a result of the geopolitical impact of the conflict over Ukraine and the gradual decoupling of Russian energ y-supplies and transportation corridors. The fourth part briefly examines how the EU is likely to inevitably reposition itself, in geographic terms, as a result of the ongoing war and its effects. This policy is likely to support a united EU that aims to fulfill its internal energy needs while obtaining sustainable access to rare-earths as well as relocated supply chains. The final part outlines how portions of a new EU foreign policy can potentially support this new geopolitical reality by establishing a more securityfocused, sustainable, and geographically diversified foreign policy.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, European Union, Geopolitics, Regional Politics, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Europe, South Caucasus, and Silk Road Region

45. The France-Azerbaijan Relationship: Realities and Misunderstandings

Author:
Maxime Gauin
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
The bilateral crises of 2020 and 2022 between Paris and Baku have provoked more emotional reactions than either dispassionate analyses or detailed projects to attempt to lastingly resolve the issue. This is not to say that relations between Azerbaijan and France are anywhere near where they should be—far from it; but supporters of what the relationship has been and could be again, to say nothing of those seeking to understand its present or wanting to shape its future course in a more agreeable direction—in accordance with the national interests of both Baku and Paris—have been done a great disservice by those who, intentionally or not, distort or misinterpret the speeches and deeds of either state’s decisionmakers and influencers. The main aims of this essay are to explain the origins of the current problems and (this is inextricably linked) to challenge the misunderstandings, misconceptions, and myths accumulated on both sides. This makes it necessary to start by providing the necessary historical background, in part because a misleading version of this past is presented today. And this misdirection itself has become an obstacle for the restoration of mutual understanding, to say nothing of warm and friendly relations. The second part of the essay will examine more recent events (1988-2017). The third and final part is devoted to the contemporary period (the Macron era), with its missed opportunities, and to some discussion of possible ways to bring an end to this litany of errors.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Europe, France, Azerbaijan, and South Caucasus

46. The Iceberg Melted: The Enhanced Visibility of Strategic Ties Between Israel and Azerbaijan

Author:
Arthur Lenk
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
The strategic depth of the relationship between the State of Israel and the Republic of Azerbaijan may surprise many people. Each has found a discreet partner in the other that offers key, unique resources allowing both to respond successfully to some of their primary geopolitical challenges. The two small countries are both squeezed in complicated, unpeaceful neighborhoods; both have long-term simmering conflicts with challenging neighbors; and both see themselves as rational actors often needing to deal with unfair media and diplomatic treatment. They have quietly come together to partner in core areas like energy and security over a now significant amount of time while widening their cooperation to spheres like tourism, education, and investing in startups. The recent announcement that Azerbaijan will open an embassy in Israel removed one of the few outstanding limitations to consolidating fully the deep, strategic relationship between the two countries. Baku’s decision was warmly welcomed by Israel’s then Prime Minister Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog, together with public figures and foreign policy experts across the political divide in Israel. Azerbaijan’s parliament passed legislation on 18 November 2022 to approve funding for embassies in Israel, Albania, and Kenya along with a representative diplomatic office in Palestine, which was signed by President Ilham Aliyev into law a few days later. It is expected that the new embassy will be inaugurated in Tel Aviv some time in 2023.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Bilateral Relations, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Azerbaijan, and South Caucasus

47. Defining Strategic Direction: Azerbaijan and the New Regional Geopolitical Configuration

Author:
Gulshan Pashayeva
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
More than two years have passed since the Second Karabakh War ended and the 10 November 2020 tripartite statement was signed. This essay presents the main priority areas for Azerbaijan of the initial phase of the post-conflict period for which the specific work is currently underway. It then examines the impact of the evolving regional geopolitical landscape to the ongoing normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Topic:
Bilateral Relations, Territorial Disputes, Geopolitics, Conflict, and Normalization
Political Geography:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, and Nagorno-Karabakh

48. The Next Surge of Conflict in the South Caucasus Is Still Preventable

Author:
Pavel Baev
Publication Date:
10-2023
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI)
Abstract:
The tragic exodus of the Armenian population from the Nagorno Karabakh region has closed a chapter in the long saga of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The disappearance of this self-proclaimed republic provides the opportunity to bring these bitter hostilities to an end; it takes, nevertheless, plenty of wishful political thinking to believe that a peace treaty could be swiftly negotiated. Mutual animosity is a profound, but not necessarily insurmountable obstacle. The greater problem is that it is hard to expect from Azerbaijan, ruled by the hereditary autocratic regime of President Ilham Aliyev, a magnanimity in victory. Pushing the defeated adversary further yet and maximizing the damage is much more in the nature of this regime, rendering the prevention of a new spasm of armed conflict an urgent task for all stakeholders in peace in the South Caucasus. The fate of Nagorno Karabakh was predetermined by the outcome of the 44-day long air-land battle in autumn 2020, in which the Armenian forward defense positions were breached, leading to the capture of Shusha, a key stronghold in the rugged theater of operations, by the Azeri forces. In that triumph, Aliyev showed strategic patience and accepted the Russian offer of a ceasefire. Much in the same way he calculated the right moment for starting the offensive operation, he assumed a total victory was inevitable in a matter of a few years, lessening the need to push forward with the military conquest of the whole enclave. The timeframe for the Russian peacekeeping operation was set on five years, but Russia’s aggression against Ukraine made it possible for Azerbaijan to force the closure of the postponed final act of geopolitical drama two years beforehand.
Topic:
Territorial Disputes, Displacement, Armed Conflict, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, and Nagorno-Karabakh

49. Thе Onе-Day War: Analyzing how Azеrbaijan's control of Karabakh is rеshaping gеopolitical equilibrium in thе South Caucasus

Author:
FARAS
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Future for Advanced Research and Studies (FARAS)
Abstract:
On Sеptеmbеr 19, 2023, Azеrbaijani forcеs launchеd a nеw military campaign against thе sеparatist rеgion of Nagorno-Karabakh, citing countеr-tеrrorism as a prеtеxt following thе dеaths of sеvеral of its soldiеrs in thе arеa. This action has raised concerns about thе potential for a rеnеwеd all-out war in thе South Caucasus. Azеrbaijan dеclarеd complеtе control ovеr thе rеgion just onе day after commеncing its military opеration. This dеvеlopmеnt has promptеd significant spеculation about its potential rеpеrcussions on thе gеopolitical balancе in thе rеgion.
Topic:
Territorial Disputes, Geopolitics, Conflict, and Regional Security
Political Geography:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, and Nagorno-Karabakh

50. Can Armenia succeed in aligning with thе Wеst at the expense of Russia?

Author:
FARAS
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Future for Advanced Research and Studies (FARAS)
Abstract:
Armenia's foreign policy has taken a nеw direction following Azеrbaijan’s military attack on Armenian tеrritory on Sеptеmbеr 19, 2023. This attack resulted in Azerbaijan gaining complеtе control over thе disputеd Nagorno-Karabakh rеgion. As a result, Armеnia is now shifting its focus toward bolstеring tiеs with thе Wеst, potеntially jeopardizing its longstanding alliancе with Russia. This shift raises questions about Russia's futurе influеncе in the Caucasus region and Yеrеvan's ability to genuinely develop stronger rеlations with thе Wеst, possibly undеrcutting its tiеs with Russia in thе current gеopolitical landscapе.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Armed Conflict, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, and Nagorno-Karabakh