Reports & Papers
from
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
"Internal and External Dimensions of Ethnic Conflicts in the Caucasus"
Dr. Kazim Azimov
Visiting Professor at the Department of Sociology at Baku State University and
Associate of the Caspian Studies Program
Caspian Studies Program, Harvard University
June 28, 2001
Summary by David Rekhviashvili and John Grennan
Dr. Azimov started his presentation by making a general observation that globalization is characterized by a number of socioeconomic developmental processes taking place simultaneously. While many of these processes advance social development, others weaken it and seriously jeopardize the possibility of establishing a just and civilized global order. Among the most acute examples of these contradictory developments are the coexistence of democratization with violence and authoritarian reactionism, as well as the coexistence of integrationalist tendencies with separatist and nationalist movements in many areas of the world. One of the areas where these contradictions have taken an extreme form is in the former Soviet Union, especially in Azerbaijan and the rest of the Caucasus region.
Dr. Azimov noted that in order to conduct comprehensive research of current conflicts in the Caucasus, a new methodological approach should be developed. According to this new approach, more emphasis should be placed on analyzing cultural and historical backgrounds of the nations concerned. In addition, the decision-making process should be based on analysis of both sociological and anthropological data.
Dr. Azimov identified two principal approaches to finding solutions to the ethnic conflicts: one based on the norms of international law and the other based on the cultural and demographic situation within a region. According to Professor Azimov, it is crucial to define whether solutions to the existing conflicts should be based solely on international policy and international legal principles or whether some major adjustments to the realities of the social and intercultural relations that exist in the region should be made. In Dr. Azimov's opinion, ethnic conflicts that erupted in the last decade of the twentieth century cannot be effectively resolved by directly following international norms that are currently in place. These regulations were adopted by the international community only after the end of the World War II (or in some cases during the latter half of the last century) and do not reflect the realities of the modern world.
Dr. Azimov advocated an approach for solving ethnic conflicts in the Caucasus (and in Nagorno-Karabagh in particular) that is both pragmatic and realistic -- an approach that reflects the existing cultural, demographic, and inter-ethnic situation in the region. He said that this approach would take historical and cultural values of the peoples inhabiting the Caucasus into account and would require the consent of the majority of people affected by the crises as a necessary precondition for its implementation. Speaking about the main principle of the proposed method of resolving conflicts in the Caucasus, Dr. Azimov said that in multiethnic societies, no single ethnic group should be granted a higher level of autonomy than the other groups have. He also stated that Caucasian societies are all multiethnic societies. Even Armenia, which claims ethnic homogeneity, is not a monoethnic state. Granting varying levels of autonomy to different ethnic groups would suggest that one minority group is "better" or more successful in achieving its aims than others and will inevitably prompt other ethnic groups to take action in order to achieve higher degrees of autonomy.
Proceeding to the specifics of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, Professor Azimov said that granting the Armenian population of Azerbaijan a high degree of autonomy would create a negative precedent and predicted that other ethnic groups in Azerbaijan would make similar demands with regards to their constitutional status. According to Dr. Azimov, the driving principle for ethnic conflict resolution should be the establishment of equal conditions for all the different groups living in the state.
Such an egalitarian approach in dealing with ethnic problems can be implemented within the framework of "nonterritorial corporate federalism." This would mean that every ethnic group within the state would receive proportionate representation at both the federal and regional level, as well as in both the executive and parliamentary branches of power. Every ethnic group would be granted cultural autonomy -- including the introduction and development of educational, media, and other institutions in the native language of the respective ethnic minority group. At the same time, these autonomies would not be defined territorially -- i.e., no borders would be drawn within the state. In order to reinforce his argument that the Caucasus (and Azerbaijan in particular) are vulnerable to further disintegration if single ethnic minorities succeed in obtaining a higher level of independence, Dr. Azimov referred to the statistics revealing how many people belong to certain ethnic minority groups in Azerbaijan. He claimed that the Talysh population of Azerbaijan amounts to 1.5 million people and that the Lezgin, Avar, Tat, Lahij, and Kurdish populations also constitute a significant part of Azerbaijani society.
During the discussion session that followed the talk, Dr. Azimov answered questions and elaborated on additional points. One of the more interesting questions dealt with the issue of how many people in Azerbaijan identify themselves as "Azeri."According to Dr. Azimov, Azeri is a very specific term. It is an Iranian word and it is still used in Iranian language. It means "fire"and "those who worship the fire,"and in ancient times it referred to the followers of the Zoroastrian religion. In different historical periods it also served as the name of Iranian-speaking ethnic groups.
Dr. Azimov went on to explain that later this term began to serve as a name for all people who inhabit the territory of Azerbaijan. It was the Communist regime that particularly insisted on using this term, because it was Soviet policy to build one nation by blending the ethnic groups that lived in the Soviet Union. Dr. Azimov argued that "Azeri" is ultimately a geographical term rather than a name of any specific ethnic group.
One member of the audience challenged Dr. Azimov's assertion that there were 1.5 million Talysh speaking people in Azerbaijan. He also pressed Dr. Azimov to elaborate upon what sort of policy approach Azerbaijan should take with this substantial minority of Talysh-speaking individuals living in certain regions of the country.
Dr. Azimov responded to this question by indicating that he was referring to specific regions where Talysh, Lezgin, and other ethnic groups live in more densely populated areas of Azerbaijan, including the city of Baku. He also talked about how the size of certain ethnic minority groups living in the country could be a matter of dispute, because there are many people who disguise their true ethnic background and say that they are Azerbaijanis when they really are not.
Regardless of any dispute over the precise numbers of certain ethnic groups in Azerbaijan, Dr. Azimov indicated that he did not advocate granting the Talysh or any other ethnic group territorial independence. His main concern was with attempts to "Turkicize" the non-Turkic population of Azerbaijan, and he maintained that ethnic minority groups should be granted cultural autonomy -- which would mean, among other things, that these people would finally get an opportunity to receive education in their native language.