Azerbaijan's Formula
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Azerbaijan’s Formula: Secular Governance and Civic Nationhood Svante E. Cornell Halil Karaveli Boris Ajeganov SILK ROAD PAPER November 2016 Azerbaijan’s Formula: Secular Governance and Civic Nationhood Svante E. Cornell Halil Karaveli Boris Ajeganov © Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program – A Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center Johns Hopkins University-SAIS, 1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 Institute for SeCurity and DevelopMent PoliCy, V. Finnbodavägen 2, StoCkholM-NaCka 13130, Sweden www.silkroadstudies.org “Azerbaijan’s Formula: Secular Governance and Civic Nationhood” is a Silk Road Paper published by the Central Asia-CauCasus Institute and Silk Road Studies PrograM, Joint Center. The Silk Road Papers Series is the OCCasional Paper series of the Joint Center, and addresses topiCal and tiMely subjects. The Joint Center is a transatlantic independent and non-profit researCh and poliCy Center. It has offiCes in Washington and StoCkholM and is affiliated with the Paul H. Nitze School of AdvanCed International Studies of Johns Hop- kins University and the StoCkholM-based Institute for SeCurity and Development PoliCy. It is the first institution of its kind in Europe and North AMerica, and is firMly established as a leading researCh and poliCy Center, serving a large and diverse CoMMunity of analysts, scholars, policy-watChers, business leaders, and journalists. The Joint Center is at the fore- front of researCh on issues of ConfliCt, seCurity, and developMent in the region. Through its applied researCh, publiCations, researCh Cooperation, publiC lectures, and seminars, it funC- tions as a foCal point for academiC, poliCy, and publiC disCussion regarding the region. The opinions and Conclusions eXpressed in this study are those of the authors only, and do not neCessarily refleCt those of the Joint Center or its sponsors. ResearCh for this publiCation was Made possible through the Core funding of the Joint Center’s institutional sponsors, as well as projeCt support froM the CounCil on State Support for Non-GovernMental Organi- zations of the RepubliC of Azerbaijan. The opinions and ConClusions eXpressed in this study are those of the authors only, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Joint Center or its sponsors. © Central Asia-CauCasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, 2016 ISBN: 978-91-86635-99-2 Printed in Singapore Distributed in North AMeriCa by: The Central Asia-CauCasus Institute Paul H. Nitze SChool of Advanced International Studies 1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 Tel. +1-202-663-7723; Fax. +1-202-663-7785 E-mail: [email protected] Distributed in Europe by: The Silk Road Studies PrograM Institute for SeCurity and DevelopMent PoliCy V. Finnbodavägen 2, SE-13130 StoCkholM-NaCka E-mail: [email protected] Editorial correspondence should be addressed to the European office of the Joint Center (preferably by e-mail.) Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 11 Civic Nation: A Conceptual Framework ........................................................................ 14 The Modern Nation .......................................................................................................... 15 MultiCulturalisM and the DeConstruCtion of the CiviC-EthniC Divide ...................... 20 Models of SeCular GovernanCe ....................................................................................... 25 ImpliCations for Non-Western SoCieties ........................................................................ 28 The Emergence of Civic Nationhood and Secular Governance in Azerbaijan .. 30 The Emergence of the Azerbaijani Nation: FroM the 1850s to the First RepubliC ... 30 The Soviet IMpaCt ............................................................................................................. 38 The Transition to Independence: the Failure of TurkisM and the Return of “AzerbaijanisM” ................................................................................................................ 43 FroM “AzerbaijanisM” to “MultiCulturalisM” .............................................................. 46 Multiculturalism or a Civic Nation? ............................................................................... 52 Key Legislation and PoliCy Instruments ........................................................................ 53 Minority Languages in EduCation and Media .............................................................. 57 PartiCipation: the ForMal and the InforMal ................................................................... 64 ImpleMentation of International InstruMents and International CritiCisM ............. 66 An Institutional VaCuuM? ............................................................................................... 71 A Staunch Commitment to Secularism .......................................................................... 73 Religion in Azerbaijan SoCiety ........................................................................................ 73 Key Legislation and Policies ........................................................................................... 77 The Caucasus MusliMs Board ......................................................................................... 80 The State CoMMittee for Work with Religious Organizations .................................. 81 An Institutional TriuMvirate ........................................................................................... 84 Western CritiCisM of Azerbaijani SeCularisM ............................................................... 85 Attitudes in Society .............................................................................................................. 89 6 Cornell, Karaveli, Ajeganov The Liberal DisCourse ....................................................................................................... 89 EthniC NationalisM ........................................................................................................... 91 The IslaMist DisCourse ..................................................................................................... 93 ConClusions ........................................................................................................................ 96 Implications for Azerbaijan and the West .................................................................... 98 Azerbaijan in ConteXt: PoliCies in Neighboring Countries ......................................... 98 Western Interests ............................................................................................................ 106 ConClusions ...................................................................................................................... 108 Authors’ Bio ......................................................................................................................... 111 Executive Summary In January 2016, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev designated 2016 the “Year of Multiculturalism.” This took place at a time when Azerbaijan’s neighborhood has eXperienCed a trend toward less rather than More separation between reli- gion and state; and toward More ethnic rather than Civic ConCeptions of nation- hood. This trend has been particularly pronounCed in two powers with whoM Azerbaijan is Closely connected, Russia and Turkey. Yet Azerbaijan has chosen to go in the other direction, doubling down on the country’s comMitment to secular governance and an inclusive conception of the nation. This is happening against the backdrop of often confused intellectual debates in the West on Matters relating to national identity and secularism. The past few decades have seen a growing effort to deconstruct the traditional divide be- tween ethnic, particularistic conceptions of nationhood and civic, universalistic models. Indeed, Western intellectual disCourse has Come to decry the Concept of nation itself – whether ethniC or CiviC – as a political fiction promoting homoge- neity, imposed by force. From this perspeCtive came the concept of Multicultur- alism in its Western understanding. Yet as a result of mounting diffiCulties to integrate imMigrant populations and the challenge of Islamic extremism, this discourse has lost much of its power of attraction. In its place, the idea of the nation-state appears to be making a comeback. In parallel, conceptions of secularism remain divided between the primarily An- glo-Saxon Model focused on promoting individual religious freedom, and the FrenCh Model of laïcité, which focuses on protecting state and society from reli- gion. The former model has gained widespread adherence, and forms the basis for various European conventions and inter-state agreements in the area of Mi- 8 Cornell, Karaveli, Ajeganov nority proteCtion. However, most secularists in the Muslim world have per- ceived the French Model as the Most appropriate to their particular situation. Azerbaijan is no exception. The Azerbaijani model draws on a long history dating back to pre-Soviet times, whiCh includes the proclamation in 1918 of the first republic in the Muslim world. This republic was, from its inception, comMitted to secularism and es- poused an inClusive ConCeption of the nation known as Azerbaijanism. The re- public was not destined