peace

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Protest in Baku, 8 April 2012. Photo: Ismi Shahzade/OC Media

Armenia–Azerbaijan Conflict

Voices of dissent: Azerbaijan reacts to war

by Ismi Aghayev

•6 min read

In Azerbaijan, the recent conflict with Armenia was met with an unusual domestic reaction — though some have fallen in line with Baku’s militant narrative, many others are speaking out despite campaigns to persecute or silence them. In the early hours of 13 September, as the biggest conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War began, Altay Goyushov posted on his Facebook page that ‘personally, I do not need Yerevan or Zangazur, and I unequivocally condemn t

Armenia

Opinion | On the importance of losing

by Leyla Sayfutdinova

•4 min read

Armenia and Azerbaijan have failed to reach a compromise solution over Nagorno-Karabakh. One’s victory over the other is illusory. The only way forward is to reflect on what has been lost and what is left to lose. Many years ago, when I studied conflict resolution, I learned about this useful typology of conflict solutions: win-win, win-lose, and compromise. Win-win is the outcome where all sides get what they want; win-lose is the solution where one side gets what it wants and the other doe

Armenia

Opinion | For all that divides us, music brings us together

by Javid Agha

•5 min read

Far from the animosity that defines our political reality, music has for centuries brought Armenians and Azerbaijanis together in a way that may once again offer us a way forward. Ludwig van Beethoven once said that music is an even higher revelation than wisdom and philosophy. This ideological aspect of music is something that is often overlooked in the context of Azerbaijani–Armenian relations. In fact, it can almost seem as if politicians do not listen to music at all. While that may

Armenia

Opinion | Accepting our past is the only way we can move forward

by Javid Agha

•5 min read

In Azerbaijan, as in Armenia, remembrance of the victims of past atrocities often takes on a one-sided nature. Despite attempts to twist and politicise such events to serve nationalist causes, a more compassionate approach is needed to move forward, and a remembrance that above all, innocent victims are always sacred. Last week, Azerbaijan mourned her martyrs who fell during the Soviet violence committed 29 years ago in the capital, Baku. TV channels aired patriotic movies (ironically

Armenia

‘Enhanced security’: Armenian settlers in Nagorno-Karabakh

by Armine Avetisyan

•8 min read

The authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh are hoping to incentivise more people to settle in the sparsely populated areas of Nagorno-Karabakh to encourage economic growth and strengthen its sense of security. However, the unresolved conflict with Azerbaijan casts shadow on these plans. Levon, who now resides in Yerevan, has been thinking of moving to Nagorno-Karabakh for over a year. He is 24 years old and studies at the National Polytechnic University of Armenia. A communications engineer

Armenia

‘If war breaks out again, I will go’ — the polarisation of young Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Georgia

by Gita Elibekyan

•5 min read

Despite Georgia’s attempts to better integrate and include ethnic minorities, young ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the country are becoming more politically invested in the affairs of Armenia and Azerbaijan than in their Georgian homeland. ‘If war breaks out again, I will go [to war]. There is no difference; I am an ethnic Azerbaijani too. It is not important for me if we live in Georgia or wherever else we go. My brothers are living there, they are in my heart’, young Azerbaija