Rafig Ismayilov Political analyst
More than 20 years have elapsed since the Declaration on the restoration of the state independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan was adopted.
The newly-proclaimed state, which had not even entered into the stage of formation and was still, by tradition, wary of Moscow, was left face to face with serious challenges, including threats to its territorial integrity. As any other newly independent republic, Azerbaijan faced quite a few difficult tasks: to develop and adopt fundamental laws, form the state apparatus and new public institutions, determine the foreign political and economic course, ensure national security, etc. Most importantly, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh fomented by nationalist circles in Armenia with the aim of alienating this inseparable part of Azerbaijan from the rest of the country.
This required the then Azerbaijani government a balanced, prudent and, at the same time, resolute approach to the solution of top priority problems. The first leaders of Azerbaijan did not possess the skill required for a truly revolutionary transformation of society. As a result, the country’s political administration was replaced in the early years of independence. Both Azerbaijan’s first and second presidents, Ayaz Mutallibov and Abulfaz Elchibay, quickly realized their incompetence as national leaders and, unable to bear the burden of presidential responsibility, left their posts. Frankly speaking, both were not apt for the job.
The conservatism of Mutallibov’s team and radicalism of Elchibay’s government remained unclaimed by the overwhelming majority of Azerbaijan’s population. In fact, even the positive aspects of the first presidents’ policies did not make their administrations more sustainable. The circumstances in which Elchibay and his team, predominantly made up of representatives of the Popular Front and Musavat parties, left power are quite indicative. Due to a lack of a political and managerial experience, as well as a romantic rather than pragmatic view on Azerbaijan’s further development, Elchibay never embarked on the formation of a new system of state, socioeconomic and ideological governance. The isolated and uncoordinated innovations did nothing to strengthen the foundations of the emerging independent state. This proved the legitimacy of the well-known saying that it is easier to ascend to power than to strengthen and preserve it.
In 1993, when Heydar Aliyev became Azerbaijani president, the republic entered into a new stage of statehood, a stage necessitated by all political and public forces interested in seeing a sound political, economic and spiritual life of the state and society.
Well aware of the complex geopolitical circumstances that had taken shape at the time, Heydar Aliyev determined a prudent foreign political course based on a so-called balanced policy. The signing of the Contract of the Century and further implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project effectively demonstrated the country’s foreign political priorities aimed at strengthening the economic, military and political foundations of state and creating international conditions for recapturing the Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories.
From the very first days of his presidency, Heydar Aliyev channeled all his energy into overturning the widespread stereotyping that Azerbaijan was allegedly violating peoples’ right to self-determination. Step by step, the Azerbaijani president was trying to convince leaders of the international community, presidents of foreign countries and representatives of the media that protection of territorial integrity was a sacred right of the Azerbaijani people which cannot interfere with the rights of ethnic Armenians. And that activity produced remarkable results. All the documents passed by international organizations confirm the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, while the overwhelming majority of countries support Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Heydar Aliyev has made an invaluable contribution to this by advocating Azerbaijan’s positions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in meetings with European and American leaders and in statements at UN general assemblies. The foundations of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy were further enhanced by his successor, President Ilham Aliyev, who in 2007 approved the country’s national security concept which officially proclaimed a multi-vector and balanced course as the fundamental principle of the country’s foreign policy1 .
This was a period when a completely new system emerged. The analysis of its components clearly shows that the Republic of Azerbaijan is moving forward. Many publications about Azerbaijan’s political development at the time focus on one of the country’s key achievements – the establishment of political stability within the state. Indeed, Heydar Aliyev managed to thwart outside attempts to destabilize the situation. The putting down of attempted uprisings in the mid-1990s demonstrated the authorities’ determination to preserve and further strengthen the state and exposed the futility of all attempts on state sovereignty. In November 1993, the formation of the national army with a unified command began. As Tomas de Vaal put it in his book “Black Garden”, units of the Azerbaijani army first took part in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh only in 19942 . This is further evidence that Azerbaijan reached the stage many ex-Soviet republics had covered in 1991-1992 only in late 1993 and early 1994. Unfortunately, the period of wasted opportunities led to the loss of territorial integrity and the appearance of internally displaced persons – problems that have yet to be resolved.
Heydar Aliyev’s policy towards strengthening national self-consciousness, which is of fundamental importance to the development of national statehood, deserves special mention. It was his idea of Azerbaijanism that became the only foundation enabling the state to unite the entire society on the citizenship principle. The Constitution adopted on 12 November 1995 contains the term of the “people of Azerbaijan”. “The people of Azerbaijan are citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan living on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan and outside it who are subordinated to the Azerbaijani state and its laws”3 , says the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It should be noted, however, that it took a lot of effort for the idea of Azerbaijanism to catch on and for its meaning to become accessible and understandable to people. A lot has been done in the last 20 years for all the citizens of Azerbaijan, including ethnic minorities, to realize that the concept of being an Azerbaijani applies to all of them.
The adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1995 conclusively established the main principles of the emerging state. It was laid down that the Republic of Azerbaijan is a secular unitary state, and any encroachments on its integrity will be nipped in the bud. At the same time, it was stated that the republic would comprehensively develop all democratic institutions and a multiparty system, and provide for the exercise of all human rights and freedoms. According to the Constitution, regular nationwide elections of all levels are held in the country: presidential, parliamentary and municipal. The protection of democratic freedoms has become one of the key attributes of the state policy. The central direction of state building in the Republic of Azerbaijan is determined by a further democratization of society and the state. This does not mean though that all the problems in this sphere have been resolved or that democratic values are fully established. The state is still facing quite a few problems in the area of human rights, mainly stemming from the bureaucracy of the previous years. Such problems mainly manifest themselves through arbitrary behavior of government officials, red-tape, etc.
Over the 20 years of independence, a new socioeconomic system has taken shape in the country. An end has been put to the monopoly of state ownership in the sphere of economic relations. Private and cooperative forms of property have been extensively developed. The variety of ownership forms has opened the way for the development of economic relations. Different sectors of the energy complex have been bolstered. Oil production in the country has more than quadrupled in 20 years to reach record levels. Gas production has been increased many times. The development of the petrochemical industry in conjunction with privatization and development of the private enterprise in other economic sectors have led to an unparalleled increase of the gross domestic product, a sharp reduction of the unemployment and poverty, and turned Azerbaijan into one of the most rapidly developing countries not only in the region but also in the entire CIS. Nonetheless, many problems relating to the development of economic relations have yet to be overcome. A lot still remains to be done to facilitate the development of agriculture and the economic sectors not associated with the energy industry, to develop education and healthcare.
That said, one can say with full confidence that the establishment of foundations of the Azerbaijani state, the adoption of fundamental laws and national development concepts, the determination of the foreign political course and the implementation of the oil strategy have created a favorable environment for the political and socioeconomic development of Azerbaijan. It must also be remembered that political and economic developments in the 21st century world are unfolding at an extremely rapid pace. This puts even more responsibility on the shoulders of the government in terms of a timely adjustment of the strategic course towards modernization of the country.
A conceptual analysis of issues associated with Azerbaijan’s development is provided in numerous statements by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev4 . Quite a few interesting ideas in this regard are expressed in the books and articles by the chief-ofstaff of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, Academician Ramiz Mehdiyev5 . All this provides grounds to believe that the government is fully aware of the global challenges and is capable of defining the country’s future development strategy.
It is beyond doubt that all the tasks the country is facing will be met. This confidence rests on centuries-long experience, optimism and wisdom of the Azerbaijani people, their hope of a happy future and the desire to see future generations living in a free, independent and prospering country.
References
1 National Security Concept of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Approved by a presidential decree dated 23 May 2007.
2 “Black garden. Armenia and Azerbaijan. Between peace and war”. Moscow, 2005.
3 Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Chapter 1, Article 1, part 2. Baku, 1996, p. 1 http://www.preslib.az/ru/eres. html
4 Ramiz Mehdiyev. “Azerbaijan: challenges of globalization”. Baku, ХХI-Yeni Nesrler evi», 2004. Ramiz Mehdiyev: “Determining a future strategy: course of modernization”. January 2008.
