Azerbaijan today is a fascist state. What consequences might this fascism have, what threats does it pose to us, and what dangers await Azerbaijan itself due to its chosen political course? These questions are raised by political scientist Stepan Danielyan.
Before addressing these questions, the analyst explains why he is convinced that Azerbaijan is a fascist state. “We have the example of fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, and in this sense, we can draw comparisons between today’s Azerbaijan and Italy or Germany of that time. Nazism and fascism have their criteria. What kind of governance system operates in Azerbaijan today? Azerbaijan has an authoritarian and centralized system where there is no opposition, elections are purely formal, and policy is determined by one person, who, after the Artsakh war, was declared a national hero. Talking about press freedom is also not serious, as in Azerbaijan, any media—whether state or private—expresses only the state’s viewpoint. Civil society is entirely absent there. On the other hand, if Azerbaijani figures with opposition views are forced to leave the country, they are assassinated abroad. If they remain in the country, they end up in prison.”
Another criterion characteristic of fascist and Nazi regimes is propaganda—nationalist propaganda directed against specific ethnic groups. Just as Jews were targeted in Germany, Armenians are declared outlaws in Azerbaijan. After the war, Turks and even Azerbaijanis visit Armenia, film videos, and post them on YouTube. Meanwhile, Armenians, even those who are not citizens of Armenia, are denied entry to Azerbaijan or the ability to operate there.
Another criterion is the textbooks that propagate hatred toward Armenians. Before the war, this could perhaps be explained by their belief that their territories were occupied. However, this anti-Armenian propaganda continues today, starting from kindergartens. Ethnic Persians and Russians are also declared enemies. During the 44-day war, Azerbaijanis in Iran held demonstrations, with the most popular slogan being: “Armenians are enemies, Persians are enemies, Russians are enemies.” Later, even after the war, rallies in Azerbaijan repeated this slogan. In other words, this slogan is used to mobilize the Azerbaijani people. There are even polls in Azerbaijan asking, “Would you support the killing of an Armenian child?”—and over 50% of respondents say they would, because that child will grow up to become an enemy. An example is Ramil Safarov, who was declared a hero for killing a sleeping Armenian.
Another hallmark of fascism is the cult of the leader. In both Germany and Italy at the time, there was a cult of the leader, seen as the father of the nation and a hero leading the people to victories and future triumphs. Such a cult has already formed in Azerbaijan. The next hallmark is militarization and the cult of strength. This is also present in Azerbaijan, where the entire press and state propaganda are built on the concept of “Azerbaijan’s most powerful army, capable of confronting Iran and Russia.” Another aspect is historical revisionism, where the state commissions historians to write books claiming that Armenians have no right to live in this region because “Armenia is Western Azerbaijan,” “Tiflis is a historically Azerbaijani city,” “Derbent in Russia is also an Azerbaijani city,” not to mention northern Iran.
Simply put, all the criteria characteristic of fascism are present in Azerbaijan.
If a fascist and Nazi regime operates in Azerbaijan, this ideology has already permeated ordinary Azerbaijanis, who are raised in this spirit from childhood. This means that with the arrival of a new generation, this nazism and fascism will be even more deeply entrenched in society. However, this nazism is not confined to one country’s borders, as Azerbaijan is a carrier of pan-Turkist ideology. Azerbaijan unites various parts of the Turkic world and is at its center. Baku is the capital of Turkism, as major events involving Central Asian countries, Turkey, Hungary, and even Northern Cyprus are primarily held in Baku, and now in Artsakh as a symbol of victory. The question arises: if Azerbaijanis are already infected with nazism, then each of them becomes a preacher of this nazism in both Iran and Russia. In this context, when examining the escalating tensions between Azerbaijan and Iran, and Azerbaijan and Russia, there are naturally geopolitical and geoeconomic components, but beyond these, there is also an ideological issue. Fascist countries pose a threat to their neighbors. The examples of Germany and Italy show that, ultimately, these fascist strongholds had to be destroyed. Iran and Russia are multinational states, and for such states, nationalism and fascism represent an extremely serious threat to their existence. Azerbaijan, as a neighbor of Iran and Russia, poses an ideological danger to these countries. This tension is not situational, and in my opinion, it will only intensify over time, naturally affecting the broader region. We must be prepared for any scenarios, which carry both dangers and, perhaps, certain opportunities for us.