As revolution swept over Russia and empires collapsed in the final days of World War I, Azerbaijan and neighbouring Georgia and Armenia proclaimed their independence in May 1918. During the ensuing two years of struggle for independence, military endgames, and treaty negotiations, the diplomatic representatives of Azerbaijan struggled to gain international recognition and favourable resolution of the territorial sovereignty of the country. This brief but eventful episode came to an end when the Red Army entered Baku in late April 1920. Drawing on archival documents from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, United States, France, and Great Britain, the accomplished historian, Jamil Hasanli, has produced a comprehensive and meticulously documented account of this little-known period. He narrates the tumultuous path of the short-lived Azerbaijani state toward winning international recognition and reconstructs a vivid image of the Azeri political elite’s quest for nationhood after the collapse of the Russian colonial system, with a particular focus on the liberation of Baku from Bolshevik factions, relations with regional neighbours, and the arduous road to recognition of Azerbaijan’s independence by the Paris Peace Conference. Providing a valuable insight into the past of the South Caucasus region and the dynamics of the post-World War I era, this book will be an essential addition to scholars and students of Central Asian Studies and the Caucasus, History, Foreign Policy and Political Studies.
As revolution swept over Russia and empires collapsed in the final days of World War I, Azerbaijan and neighbouring Georgia and Armenia proclaimed their independence in May 1918. During the ensuing two years of struggle for independence, military endgames, and treaty negotiations, the diplomatic representatives of Azerbaijan struggled to gain international recognition and favourable resolution of the territorial sovereignty of the country. This brief but eventful episode came to an end when the Red Army entered Baku in late April 1920. Drawing on archival documents from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, United States, France, and Great Britain, the accomplished historian, Jamil Hasanli, has produced a comprehensive and meticulously documented account of this little-known period. He narrates the tumultuous path of the short-lived Azerbaijani state toward winning international recognition and reconstructs a vivid image of the Azeri political elite’s quest for nationhood after the collapse of the Russian colonial system, with a particular focus on the liberation of Baku from Bolshevik factions, relations with regional neighbours, and the arduous road to recognition of Azerbaijan’s independence by the Paris Peace Conference. Providing a valuable insight into the past of the South Caucasus region and the dynamics of the post-World War I era, this book will be an essential addition to scholars and students of Central Asian Studies and the Caucasus, History, Foreign Policy and Political Studies.
Iran’s role as a regional power is more significant than many in the West may realise. The country lies between Central Asia/the Caucasus and the Gulf region on the one hand, and, on the other, between the Mediterranean/Levant region and South Asia. Many of these areas are of increasing strategic importance. This book explores Iran’s role as a regional power, focusing on relations with South Caucasus countries - Azerbaijan and Armenia. It outlines the historical context, including Persia’s rule of these countries before the nineteenth century, and discusses Iran’s approach to foreign and regional policy and how both internal and international factors shape these policies. The book assesses Iran–Azerbaijan and Iran–Armenia bilateral relations to demonstrate how those policies translate in Iran's regional and bilateral relations. The book concludes by considering how Iran's relations in the region are likely to develop in the future.
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). This book discusses the profile, foreign rights and human rights of the European country of Azerbaijan.
Being located between the Black and Caspian seas, Azerbaijan has always been the juncture of Eurasia—with a traditional reputation as a crossroads between the north-south and east-west transport corridors—and the traditional ground for competition between numerous regional and global players, using both soft and hard power. With its vast hydrocarbon energy reserves, Azerbaijan is a country of particular importance in the South Caucasus. The region’s complex geopolitics have immensely influenced Azerbaijan’s foreign policy strategy. With the dissolution of the USSR, Azerbaijan, as a new state with fragile security, found itself in a complicated situation surrounded by regional powers like Iran, Russia, and Turkey. The book is built around several major foreign policy issues faced by the Republic of Azerbaijan since it regained its independence in 1991. These major issues include the conflict with Armenia and related matters, the relationship with the West, as well as the complexities arising from its relationship with Russia and its ties to Muslim countries, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.
"Hosting this week's Eurovision Song Contest has put Azerbaijan's authoritarian government and its human rights record under international spotlight. But attention should also focus on Europe's relations with Azerbaijan, which remain guided by narrow energy interests. Although Azerbaijan holds more political prisoners than any other Eastern European country, the EU has remained timid about human rights violations. The EU's failure to pressure the Azerbaijani government to liberalise has brought few benefits and continues to discredit the EU in the eyes of Azerbaijan's society. In a new ECFR policy memo Jana Kobzova and Leila Alieva argue that Europe must now change its approach as the Baku government is more vulnerable than it appears: Azerbaijan's oil and gas reserves transformed the country and led to a decade of impressive economic growth. However, with oil running out, Azerbaijan's economic model is unsustainable. The government has made little effort to diversify the economy away from dependence on hydrocarbons -- Since 2003 Ilham Aliyev has consolidated power in the presidency and steered Azerbaijan towards a full-fledged autocracy. The overall human rights situation is worsening. The government's heavy-handed tactics may eventually backfire. By clamping down on independent media and repressing the secular opposition, the regime has closed most of the usual channels for expressing dissent. Jana Kobzova and Leila Alieva argue that this weakness means that Europe must change its approach, to avoid a repetition of the Arab Awakening when it was left looking like a supporter of autocrats. Instead, the EU's approach towards Azerbaijan needs to be more vocal and bolder: The EU needs to redirect more political and financial support to grassroots groups, SMEs and independent media who can put more pressure on the regime. The EU should be more vocal in demanding greater political pluralism -- The EU should continue to use its dialogue with the government to assist in areas that are important for Azerbaijan's modernisation and transformation, such as governance, rule of law or diversification of the country's economy -- The EU is Azerbaijan's most important trading partner and should use this as a leverage to push for change -- EU member states should follow the UK's example and introduce new rules banning those non-EU nationals accused of human rights abuses from entering the EU-this would change the calculations for those in Azerbaijan's elite taking part in human rights violations. "As Azerbaijan grows more authoritarian, Europe faces a choice. It can fully embrace this country and its society, which is proud of becoming the first-ever Muslim liberal democratic republic in 1918, or it can continue its condition-free dialogue with the regime."--Leila Alieva. "Unless the EU takes a bolder approach towards Azerbaijan, it risks finding itself in the same position it was in the southern neighbourhood before the Arab Awakening: that of a quiet supporter of autocrats"- Jana Kobzova. Key facts: There are more political prisoners in Azerbaijan than in Belarus, the political opposition has almost been eliminated, the main TV channels are controlled by the government and journalists are regularly threatened -- The volume of oil extracted in Azerbaijan peaked in 2010 and is set to continue to decline. Azerbaijan's budget increasingly relies on transfers from the state oil fund (SOFAZ) rather than taxes -- Between 2003 and 2010 the poverty rate dropped from 45% to 9%. But in 2011 the country recorded the lowest economic growth among all former Soviet republics -- Azerbaijan is as corrupt as Russia or Uganda and ranks worse than neighbouring Georgia and Armenia. (Transparency International) -- The EU's financial levers are limited: in 2012, the EU's offer of €31 million in exchange for social and economic reforms was dwarfed by the almost €43 million that Azerbaijan earns every day from oil -- EU democracy promotion in the Eastern Neighbourhood has failed: none of the six Eastern Partnership countries is fully democratic and democracy scores in the region have been worsening"--Publisher's description.
