Azerbaijan Period of Democratic Transition

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Azerbaijan Period of Democratic Transition Azerbaijan Period of democratic transition: 1989–1991 Pro-democracy civic movement: present After enjoying a brief period of independence from 1918 to 1920, Azerbaijan entered the Soviet Union in 1922 and became its own Soviet republic in 1936. Azerbaijan experienced repression under Communist rule, as well as growing nationalism in the 1980s. Azerbaijan’s civic movement emerged at a time of growing interethnic conflict over the majority Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Anti-Azeri violence in Nagorno-Karabakh heightened tensions and resulted in the forced migration of tens of thousands of Azeris to the capital. In turn, anti-Armenian hostility led to a large refugee flow of Armenians from the capital. Soviet troops sent in to restore order exacerbated the situation. In this violent context, a generally peaceful civic movement, the Azerbaijani Popular Front (APF), emerged out of mass protests that mobilized hundreds of thousands of participants who took part in marches, demonstrations, and some worker strikes. The APF pursued a democratic agenda, with calls for independence, a multiparty system, independent trade unions, and diverse media. While the nonviolent APF operated in a setting in which there was considerable violence, radical and armed forces never attracted a mass following. After the collapse of the USSR in August 1991, Azeri authorities declared statehood and independence from Moscow. A brief period of rule under the presidency of former Communist Party chief Ayaz Mutalibov ended with his resignation after mounting protests and civic pressure led by the APF. Despite a widening conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, a competitive presidential election in June 1992 was won by the APF- backed candidate, Abulfaz Elchibey. Azerbaijan’s leadership has pledged to advance a democratic reform program but has been slow to do so in practice. Elections since 1992 have often been mired in fraud or intimidation, and fighting took place between demonstrators and security forces prior to the 2003 presidential elections. Nevertheless, elections occur with some regularity. .
Recommended publications
  • Oxumaq Üçün Dəvət Olunmuş, 1961- Ci Ildə Isə Universitetdə Dil Və Ədəbiyyat Üzrə Aparıcı Mütəxəssis Kimi Fəaliyyətini Daha Da Genişləndirmişdir
    Elmi redaktor: tarix elmləri doktoru, professor Musa QASIMLI Elnur MƏMMƏDLİ. Azərbaycan-Böyük Britaniya münasibətləri (1991-2003), Bakı, Adiloğlu, 2003. Kitab Azərbaycan Respublikasının müasir xarici siyasətinin əsas istiqamətlərindən olan Böyük Britaniya və Şimali İrlandiya Birləşmiş Krallığı ilə münasibətlərə həsr edilmişdir. Əsərdə A.zərbaycan və Böyük Britaniya əlaqələri tarixinə toxunulmuş, ikitərəfli siyasi, iqtisadi və humanitar münasibətlərin mövcud durumu v-> perspektivləri tədqiq olunmuşdur. Kitab .bevnalxalq münasiOətfer' uzrə mütəxəssislərə, o cümlədən ali məktəb müəllimləri, tələbələri və eeniş, oxucu kütləsi üçün nəzərdə tutulur. ,, 4719121574 ., M ---------------- sıtanşb 121-2003 © ELNUR MƏMMƏDLİ KİTABIN IÇINDƏKILƏR GİRİŞ .......................................................................................................... 5 BİRİNCİ FƏSİL AZƏRBAYCAN-İNGİLTƏRƏ ƏLAQƏLƏRİ TARİXİNDƏN ........................... 13 İKİNCİ FƏSİL AZƏRBAYCAN-BÖYÜK BRİTANİYA SİYASİ MÜNASİBƏTLƏRİ 2.1 İkitərəfli siyasi münasibətlərin qurulması və inkişafı ............... 21 2.2 Parlamentlərarası əlaqələr ......................................................... 37 2.3 Ermənistanın Azərbaycana qarşı hərbi təcavüzünə Birləşmiş Krallığın münasibəti ................................................. 45 ÜÇÜNCÜ FƏSİL AZƏRBAYCAN VƏ BÖYÜK BRİTANİYA ARASINDA İQTİSADİ VƏ HUMANİTAR MÜNASİBƏTLƏR 3.1 Energetika sahəsində əməkdaşlıq ............................................. 62 3.2 İqtisadiyyatın digər sahələrində əməkdaşlıq ............................
    [Show full text]
  • The Centrality of Elites
    The Centrality of Elites FREDO ARIAS-KING n the 1970s, a doctoral student in the economics department at Harvard could I not understand a case study in which two aluminum factories with the same assets produced different outputs. "The tools to understand this were completely absent in the economics profession," he mentioned later. His professor suggested that he might find the answer across the river at the business school, which he did. The main rea- son for the discrepancy turned out to be the management of the enterprises. Although it never claimed to be a science, not even a dismal one, the Sovi- etological profession has suffered from similar shortcomings, such as an inabili- ty to predict the imminent collapse of the USSR. Likewise, the debate on the rea- sons for the successes and failures ^of the postcommunist transitions at the time also seems to be deficient. As economics has, since the 1970s, learned much from management studies, so too should our profession. Renowned management guru Peter Drucker has noted that psychology is a central ingredient in management studies and in the management of corporations. The personality traits of the man- agers are routinely taken into account. Sovietology, transitology, and more specif- ically, political science and diplomacy should consider doing what has been obvi- ous to journalists and other casual observers of the East-Central European transitions and emphasize more the personal background and motivations of the leaders.' This could go a long way in explaining those transitions and the per- formance of their governments. It could provide a framework to explain not only what happened in the last thirteen years but also what might happen when Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, Turkrnenistan, and others begin their political and economic transitions.
    [Show full text]
  • Privatization, State Militarization Through War, and Durable Social Exclusion in Post-Soviet Armenia Anna Martirosyan University of Missouri-St
    University of Missouri, St. Louis IRL @ UMSL Dissertations UMSL Graduate Works 7-18-2014 Privatization, State Militarization through War, and Durable Social Exclusion in Post-Soviet Armenia Anna Martirosyan University of Missouri-St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Martirosyan, Anna, "Privatization, State Militarization through War, and Durable Social Exclusion in Post-Soviet Armenia" (2014). Dissertations. 234. https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/234 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Privatization, State Militarization through War, and Durable Social Exclusion in Post-Soviet Armenia Anna Martirosyan M.A., Political Science, University of Missouri - St. Louis, 2008 M.A., Public Policy Administration, University of Missouri - St. Louis, 2002 B.A., Teaching Foreign Languages, Vanadzor Teachers' Training Institute, Armenia, 1999 A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School at the University of Missouri - St. Louis in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science July 11, 2014 Advisory Committee David Robertson, Ph.D. (Chair) Eduardo Silva, Ph.D. Jean-Germain Gros, Ph.D. Kenneth Thomas, Ph.D. Gerard Libardian, Ph.D. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS i
    [Show full text]
  • Azerbaijan: Recent Developments and U.S
    Azerbaijan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests Jim Nichol Specialist in Russian and Eurasian Affairs February 22, 2013 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov 97-522 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Azerbaijan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests Summary Azerbaijan is an important power in the South Caucasus by reason of its geographic location and ample energy resources, but it faces challenges to its stability, including the unresolved separatist conflict involving Nagorno Karabakh (NK). Azerbaijan enjoyed a brief period of independence in 1918-1920, after the collapse of the Tsarist Russian Empire. However, it was re-conquered by Red Army forces and thereafter incorporated into the Soviet Union. It re-gained independence when the Soviet Union collapsed at the end of 1991. Upon independence, Azerbaijan continued to be ruled for a while by its Soviet-era leader, but in May 1992 he was overthrown and Popular Front head Abulfaz Elchibey was soon elected president. Military setbacks in suppressing separatism in the breakaway NK region contributed to Elchibey’s rise to power, and in turn to his downfall just over a year later, when he was replaced by Heydar Aliyev, the leader of Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan region and a former communist party head of Azerbaijan. In July 1994, a ceasefire agreement was signed in the NK conflict. Heydar Aliyev served until October 2003, when under worsening health he stepped down. His son Ilkham Aliyev was elected president a few days later. According to the Obama Administration, U.S. assistance for Azerbaijan aims to develop democratic institutions and civil society, support the growth of the non-oil sectors of the economy, strengthen the interoperability of the armed forces with NATO, increase maritime border security, and bolster the country’s ability to combat terrorism, corruption, narcotics trafficking, and other transnational crime.
    [Show full text]
  • European Stability Initiative the Country Haydar Aliyev Built
    European Stability Initiative The country Haydar Aliyev built June 2011 Soviet Azerbaijan Soviet Baku, year unknown. Photo: DerWolF / Wikipedia After the dissolution of the Russian empire in 1917 and during the ensuing civil war Azerbaijan became an independent state the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR). Throughout its brief existence from 1918 to 1920, the young state found itself at war with neighbouring Armenia and under assault. In 1920, the Bolsheviks took control in Azerbaijan. The Soviet Union was created in 1922. Initially part of the so-called "Transcaucasian Federation" within the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan gained the status of a full-right Union republic in 1936. Soviet rule in Azerbaijan lasted for nearly seven decades until, on 30 August 1991, Azerbaijan declared independence from the crumbling Soviet Union, following the example of several other Soviet republics. Azerbaijanis' identity has long been complex. In Tsarist Russia, Muslim inhabitants of the Caucasus were often referred to as 'Tatars' or simply 'Muslims'. By the end of the 19th century a growing number of Azerbaijanis defined themselves as 'Turks' or 'Azerbaijani Turks.' Although their language is very similar to Anatolian Turkish, Azerbaijanis have never lived under Ottoman rule. Unlike the majority of (Sunni) Turks, most practice Shia Islam, something they share with more than twenty million ethnic Azeris living south of the Araks river in the northwest of Iran. In 1916 62 percent of Muslims in Azerbaijan were Shiite and 38 percent were Sunni. In the 1920's the Soviet authorities pursued a policy of korenizatsiya, or nativization. It consisted of promoting natives to positions of responsibility in the government and the communist party and instituting the equality of Russian and local languages in the public sphere.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Garden : Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War / Thomas De Waal
    BLACK GARDEN THOMAS DE WAAL BLACK GARDEN Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War a New York University Press • New York and London NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London © 2003 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data De Waal, Thomas. Black garden : Armenia and Azerbaijan through peace and war / Thomas de Waal. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8147-1944-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, 1988–1994. 2. Armenia (Republic)— Relations—Azerbaijan. 3. Azerbaijan—Relations—Armenia (Republic) I. Title. DK699.N34 D4 2003 947.54085'4—dc21 2002153482 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Manufactured in the United States of America 10987654321 War is kindled by the death of one man, or at most, a few; but it leads to the death of tremendous numbers. —Elias Canetti, Crowds and Power Mercy on the old master building a bridge, The passer-by may lay a stone to his foundation. I have sacrificed my soul, worn out my life, for the nation. A brother may arrange a rock upon my grave. —Sayat-Nova Contents Author’s Note ix Two Maps, of the South Caucasus and of Nagorny Karabakh xii–xiii. Introduction: Crossing the Line 1 1 February 1988: An Armenian Revolt 10 2 February 1988: Azerbaijan: Puzzlement and Pogroms 29 3 Shusha: The Neighbors’ Tale 45 4 1988–1989: An Armenian Crisis 55 5 Yerevan: Mysteries of the East 73 6 1988–1990: An Azerbaijani Tragedy 82 7
    [Show full text]
  • The Caucasus Globalization
    Volume 5 Issue 3-4 2011 1 THE CAUCASUS & GLOBALIZATION INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC STUDIES OF THE CAUCASUS THE CAUCASUS & GLOBALIZATION Journal of Social, Political and Economic Studies Volume 5 Issue 3-4 2011 CA&CC Press® SWEDEN 2 Volume 5 Issue 3-4 2011 FOUNDEDTHE CAUCASUS AND& GLOBALIZATION PUBLISHED BY INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC STUDIES OF THE CAUCASUS Registration number: M-770 Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan Republic PUBLISHING HOUSE CA&CC Press® Sweden Registration number: 556699-5964 Registration number of the journal: 1218 Editorial Council Eldar Chairman of the Editorial Council (Baku) ISMAILOV Tel/fax: (994 12) 497 12 22 E-mail: [email protected] Kenan Executive Secretary (Baku) ALLAHVERDIEV Tel: (994 – 12) 596 11 73 E-mail: [email protected] Azer represents the journal in Russia (Moscow) SAFAROV Tel: (7 495) 937 77 27 E-mail: [email protected] Nodar represents the journal in Georgia (Tbilisi) KHADURI Tel: (995 32) 99 59 67 E-mail: [email protected] Ayca represents the journal in Turkey (Ankara) ERGUN Tel: (+90 312) 210 59 96 E-mail: [email protected] Editorial Board Nazim Editor-in-Chief (Azerbaijan) MUZAFFARLI Tel: (994 – 12) 499 11 74 E-mail: [email protected] (IMANOV) Vladimer Deputy Editor-in-Chief (Georgia) PAPAVA Tel: (995 – 32) 24 35 55 E-mail: [email protected] Akif Deputy Editor-in-Chief (Azerbaijan) ABDULLAEV Tel: (994 – 12) 596 11 73 E-mail: [email protected] Volume 5 IssueMembers 3-4 2011 of Editorial Board: 3 THE CAUCASUS & GLOBALIZATION Zaza D.Sc. (History), professor, Corresponding member of the Georgian National Academy ALEKSIDZE of Sciences, head of the scientific department of the Korneli Kekelidze Institute of Manuscripts (Georgia) Mustafa AYDIN Professor, Ankara University (Turkey) Irina BABICH D.Sc.
    [Show full text]
  • Concerns in Europe
    CONCERNS IN EUROPE July - December 1998 FOREWORD This bulletin contains information about Amnesty International’s main concerns in Europe between July and December 1998. Not every country in Europe is reported on: only those where there were significant developments in the period covered by the bulletin. The five Central Asian republics of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are included in the Europe Region because of their membership of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Reflecting the priority Amnesty International is giving to investigating and campaigning against human rights violations against women and children, the bulletin contains special sections on Women in Europe (p.66) and Children in Europe (p.70). A number of individual country reports have been issued on the concerns featured in this bulletin. References to these are made under the relevant country entry. In addition, more detailed information about particular incidents or concerns may be found in Urgent Actions and News Service Items issued by Amnesty International. This bulletin is published by Amnesty International every six months. References to previous bulletins in the text are: AI Index: EUR 01/02/98 Concerns in Europe: January - June 1998 AI Index: EUR 01/01/98 Concerns in Europe: July - December 1997 AI Index: EUR 01/06/97 Concerns in Europe: January - June 1997 AI Index: EUR 01/01/97 Concerns in Europe: July - December 1996 AI Index: EUR 01/02/96 Concerns in Europe: January - June 1996 Amnesty International March 1999 AI Index: EUR 01/01/99 2 Concerns in Europe: July - December 1998 ALBANIA Arrest and detention of former ministers and officials On 22 August police arrested six men in Tirana.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title From well to welfare: social spending in mineral-rich post-Soviet states Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2m23n81t Author McCullaugh, Marcy Elisabeth Publication Date 2013 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California From Well to Welfare: Social Spending in Mineral-Rich Post-Soviet States By Marcy Elisabeth McCullaugh A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in Charge: Professor M. Steven Fish, Chair Professor Steven Vogel Professor Jason Wittenberg Professor Michael Watts Fall 2013 Copyright 2013 by Marcy Elisabeth McCullaugh All rights reserved. Abstract From Well to Welfare: Social Spending in Mineral-Rich Post-Soviet States By Marcy Elisabeth McCullaugh Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science University of California, Berkeley Professor M. Steven Fish, Chair Why do some autocrats redistribute resource rents through high welfare spending, while others do not? Conventional wisdom suggests that authoritarian leaders unconstrained by institutions and with unlimited access to resource wealth would siphon off these funds for themselves and rent-seeking elites at the expense of delivering goods to citizens. Yet, welfare spending levels among the world’s petroleum-rich authoritarian and hybrid regimes indicate that some rulers are more inclined than others to “share the loot” with the larger citizenry. This dissertation provides a theory of redistributive social spending in mineral-rich authoritarian regimes, using the cases of Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. I analyze health, education and social security spending in each country from 2000-present, leveraging variation across cases as well as within each case over time.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Garden : Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War / Thomas De Waal
    BLACK GARDEN THOMAS DE WAAL BLACK GARDEN Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War a New York University Press • New York and London NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London © 2003 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data De Waal, Thomas. Black garden : Armenia and Azerbaijan through peace and war / Thomas de Waal. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8147-1944-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, 1988–1994. 2. Armenia (Republic)— Relations—Azerbaijan. 3. Azerbaijan—Relations—Armenia (Republic) I. Title. DK699.N34 D4 2003 947.54085'4—dc21 2002153482 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Manufactured in the United States of America 10987654321 War is kindled by the death of one man, or at most, a few; but it leads to the death of tremendous numbers. —Elias Canetti, Crowds and Power Mercy on the old master building a bridge, The passer-by may lay a stone to his foundation. I have sacrificed my soul, worn out my life, for the nation. A brother may arrange a rock upon my grave. —Sayat-Nova Contents Author’s Note ix Two Maps, of the South Caucasus and of Nagorny Karabakh xii–xiii. Introduction: Crossing the Line 1 1 February 1988: An Armenian Revolt 10 2 February 1988: Azerbaijan: Puzzlement and Pogroms 29 3 Shusha: The Neighbors’ Tale 45 4 1988–1989: An Armenian Crisis 55 5 Yerevan: Mysteries of the East 73 6 1988–1990: An Azerbaijani Tragedy 82 7
    [Show full text]
  • Emergence of New Political Identity in the South
    E M ER GE NC E O F N E W P O LI TI CA L I D EN TI TY I N T HE S O UT H C A UC AS US E N E R G Y , S E C U R I T Y , S T R A T E G I C L O C A T I O N A N D P R A G M A T I S M Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy Thesis Submitted by Elin Suleymanov May 2004 Under the advisement of Professor Andrew Hess © 2004 Elin Suleymanov http://fletcher.tufts.edu Table of Contents: Abstract 3 An Imperial Backyard or Neighborhood of the Future? 4 Mountains Not the Only Thing in Common 7 Nationalist Ideology: Popular and Dangerous 10 Old Faces; New Policies. The Rise of Caucasian Pragmatism: 18 Managing Equilibriums 21 Perceptions of Regional Security: 29 Russia: the Over-bearing Neighbor 30 Armenia- Azerbaijan Conflict: the Caucasian Sword of Damocles 41 Iran: the Insecure South 47 Social and Economic Fundamentals of Caucasian Nations 53 Caspian Energy as the Engine for the Region’s Integration: 57 AIOC: Tangible Results of Pragmatism 57 Linking the Seas. The Pipelines 65 New Identity for the Ancient Land 68 Appendix 1. Azerbaijan and Occupied Territories. Map 71 Appendix 2. Chronology of AIOC Oil Contract 72 Appendix 3. Caspian Pipelines. Map 73 Appendix 4. Baku Declaration of the Silk Road Summit. September 8, 1998 74 2 ABSTRACT The South Caucasus is a boiling pot of various faiths, ethnicities, historical memories and political orientations, has traditionally been subject to strong, often overwhelming external pressures.
    [Show full text]
  • Fairbanks-18-1
    January 2007, Volume 18, Number 1 $11.00 How Democracies Emerge Thomas Carothers Sheri Berman Revolution Reconsidered Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr. The Perpetual Crises of Democracy Guillermo O’Donnell Benjamin Reilly on the Asia-Pacific Gideon Maltz on Presidential Term Limits Thomas B. Pepinsky on Malaysia Axel Hadenius & Jan Teorell on Paths from Authoritarianism Gideon Rahat on Candidate Selection The Mexican Standoff Andreas Schedler Luis Estrada & Alejandro Poiré Jorge G. Casta~neda & Marco A. Morales REVOLUTION RECONSIDERED Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr. Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr., a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., serves on the editorial board of the Journal of De- mocracy. He recently was a Fulbright Fellow in Georgia and served as an election observer there in November 2003. In the winter of 2006 Georgians and Ukrainians will be marking, and many celebrating, events that they have labeled by the somewhat old- fashioned term, “revolution”: the Rose and Orange Revolutions. It is surprising that these historic upheavals have not spurred any reconsid- eration of the once popular concept of revolution. Modern liberal de- mocracy as we know it today emerged when a “right of revolution” began to be widely asserted in the century leading up to the American Declaration of Independence in 1776. Over the next two centuries, revo- lution was a hope always cherished somewhere on the globe, consoling believers in popular rule and guiding their efforts. Some of the subse- quent revolutions were amazing successes, like the American, while others turned out to be cruel deceptions. Partly because the last wave of revolutionary enthusiasm after the Second World War had proved de- ceptive, the collapse of communist rule in the Soviet bloc was accom- panied by a feeling that revolutions might be dying out.
    [Show full text]