THE INFLUENCE OF ENERGY RESOURCES IN DEVELOPING “PRAGMATIC” RELATIONS BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND THE WEST
Journal Title: CES Working Papers - Year 2016, Vol 8, Issue 3
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to research the way energy resources shaped Azerbaijan’s foreign policy and contributed to developing its strategic relations with western actors trying, at the same time, to bring arguments whether or not the democratic deficit in Azerbaijan is related to the”resource nationalism”. The author makes a retrospective analysis of the most important events that have influenced Azerbaijan’s foreign policy since the collapse of USSR. In this regard, it is assessed the impact of the “Contract of the Century” on the evolution of the country, forasmuch the signing of the document is considered the first strategic move made by Azerbaijan since 1991. Because Nagorno-Karabakh is a crucial priority for the country’s territorial integrity, it is examined the manner in which Azerbaijani authorities are trying to make use of the energy resources projects in order to speed up the settlement of the protracted conflict, but without success so far. Last but not least, are analysed the EU-Azerbaijan relations, both on the energy and political level, highlighting on the one hand, the reluctance of Azerbaijan towards the democratic reforms promoted within the Eastern Partnership, but on the other hand, the interest of Baku to negotiate the unwanted agreements with Brussels, counting on its advantage as a supplier of energy resources on the European market. Consequently, some key questions have emerged: Is the EU’s strategic objective to ensure its energy security more important than promoting and encouraging its partners to adopt the fundamental values of the EU? What impact may have the Strategic modernization partnership on the EU-Azerbaijan relations? Is European Union’s credibility in danger, by having so diverse approaches towards the Eastern Partnership countries?
Authors and Affiliations
Sabina Strimbovschi
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP118254
- DOI -
- Views 105
- Downloads 0
THE UKRAINIAN CRISIS - AN UNPREDICTABLE EVENT?
For years Ukraine tried to balance between the EU and Russia. The strategy proved to be inefficient due to the fact that Ukraine did not hold the required leverage for this kind of strategy and the consequence was...
THE LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE VALUE RELEVANCE LITERATURE
In the last decades, numerous studies have covered the relationship between stock price or stock return and financial information. These studies represent the "value-relevance" literature. Knowledge of this area of inter...
INTEGRATION POLICY TOWARDS IMMIGRANTS: CURRENT EXPERIENCE
In the contemporary world the intensity of the immigration movements is constantly increasing. Countries which experience great immigrant flows are facing numerous problems which should be solved. The article studies the...
CONSIDERATIONS ON EUROPEAN POLICY OF RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, INNOVATION. CASE OF ROMANIA
The evolution of the European policy in the field of research, development, innovation reflects the maturity process of the European construction, through the very understanding of the particular role of knowledge in eco...
INCREASING MARKET TRANSPARENCY: THE ROLE OF THE INTERNET AND E-COMMERCE
"Cyberspace" - a concept until recently considered somewhat obscure and fantasy, has become in the contemporary era common and one of the most exciting trends in business. The emergence and development of electronic comm...