Old City of Baku with the new modern Flame Towers in the background. May 11, 2015. Photo: Sofie Bedford

Old City of Baku with the new modern Flame Towers in the background. May 11, 2015. Photo: Sofie Bedford

Peer-reviewed articles Ring out the old and ring in the young: Upgrading Authoritarianism in Azerbaijan

Using Heydemann’s concept ‘authoritarian upgrading’ as the theoretical point of departure, this article sheds light on the adaptation of the Azerbaijani authoritarian regime that is taking place in the political arena, civil society, media and information sector, and in relation to religious practices. It elaborates on how authoritarian upgrading is associated with the consolidation of the authoritarian regime and suggests that the core of these measures entails making authoritarian norms and values appear more attractive and acceptable. Notably, it illustrates the conscious attempts to engage the younger generation across multiple sectors in authoritarian upgrading making them both a target and a tool in this process.

Published in the printed edition of Baltic Worlds BW 2023:3, 8-23
Published on balticworlds.com on August 23, 2023

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abstract

Using Heydemann’s concept ‘authoritarian upgrading’ as the theoretical point of departure, this article sheds light on the adaptation of the Azerbaijani authoritarian regime that is taking place in the political arena, civil society, media and information sector, and in relation to religious practices. It elaborates on how authoritarian upgrading is associated with the consolidation of the authoritarian regime and suggests that the core of these measures entails making authoritarian norms and values appear more attractive and acceptable. Notably, it illustrates the conscious attempts to engage the younger generation across multiple sectors in authoritarian upgrading making them both a target and a tool in this process.

Keywords: Authoritarian upgrading, reforms, managed pluralism, Azerbaijan.

Read the full text article by downloading the pdf.

Sofie Bedford

  • by Sofie Bedford

    An Associate Professor in Political Science and an Affiliated Researcher at IRES Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Uppsala University. Her PhD project was conducted at Baltic and East European Graduate School (BEEGS) at Södertörn University and focused on processes of Islamic revivalism and community mobilization in Azerbaijan. She has since continued her research on religious, political and civic activism, especially in the Azerbaijani context but also in comparison to other authoritarian states, Belarus in particular.

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