Secular Government and Civic Nationhood in Azerbaijan: History, Context, Implications
CACI FORUM
Secular Government and Civic Nationhood in Azerbaijan: History, Context, Implications
Tuesday, 22 November 2016, from 12 to 2 p.m.
Since its emergence as a nation in the early twentieth century, Azerbaijan’s state and society have both remained remarkably faithful to secular governance and a civic national conception. In recent years, the government has doubled down on these concepts, among other by designating 2016 the year of multiculturalism. But what do these terms mean in practice? What are the policies developed by the Azerbaijani government, and what reactions have emerged in society? How does Azerbaijan compare to countries in its neighborhood, and what are the implications for the West?
Speakers:
Svante E. Cornell, Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute
Moderator: Mamuka Tsereteli, Research Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute
This event may now be viewed on the SAIS Events channel on YouTube.
SAIS - Johns Hopkins University
1619 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20036
The Road Ahead for Azerbaijan and the Caucasus
CACI FORUM
The Road Ahead for Azerbaijan and the Caucasus
Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016, from 5 to 7 p.m.
(reception at 5 p.m.; main program at 5:30)
This event can now be viewed on the SAIS events YouTube channel.
A Talk by
Elin Suleymanov
Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States of America
As Azerbaijan celebrates twenty five years of independence, Ambassador Suleymanov will look at the achievements of his country and focus on future prospects both for Azerbaijan and the region as a whole in an era of mounting tension and geopolitical transformations.
Moderated by S. Frederick Starr, Chairman, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute
SAIS - Johns Hopkins University
1619 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20036
Under the Radar: Georgia’s October 2016 Elections
Azerbaijan Since Independence
Book, Routledge, 2011
Svante E. Cornell, Azerbaijan Since Independence
Azerbaijan Since Independence offers a comprehensive intro- duction to modern Azerbaijan, a post-Soviet republic located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. This small country has outsized importance due to its strategic location at the cross- roads of Europe and Asia, its energy wealth, and its historical experience as an early modernizer in the Muslim world.
The book begins with six chapters on Azerbaijan’s history from pre-Soviet times to the present, with an emphasis on the past twenty years. The next four chapters are thematic, covering the con ict over Karabakh, the political system, the oil-dominated economy, and societal changes and trends including the role of Islam. The remainder of the book surveys Azerbaijan’s foreign relations, with an analysis of the foreign- policy-making context complemented by chapters on relations with Iran, Russia, Turkey, and the West. The book closes with a brief epilogue discussing the country’s future.
Svante E. Cornell is Director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Center affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP).
See details and order the book from Routledge or on Amazon.com
Contents:
The fallacy of ‘compartmentalisation’: the West and Russia from Ukraine to Syria
European View, June 2016, Volume 15, Issue 1, pp 97–109
Svante E. Cornell, The fallacy of ‘compartmentalisation’: the West and Russia from Ukraine to Syria
In the post-Soviet space as well as the Middle East, Western leaders have largely failed to heed ample evidence that the goals of the Russian leadership are fundamentally opposed to those of the EU and the US. Whereas Moscow seeks to counter Western influence and roll back the US’s role in the world, the West has proposed a win–win approach, seeking to convince Moscow that its ‘true’ interests should lead it to cooperate with the West. When this has not worked, Western leaders have ‘compartmentalised’, isolating areas of agreement from areas of disagreement. This approach has come to the end of the road because the assumptions that undergird it are false. So long as Western powers fail to understand the fundamental incompatibility of their interests with the deeply anti-Western interests of the current power brokers in the Kremlin, they are unlikely to develop policies that achieve success.
Svante E. Cornell is Director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Center affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy.
