Read on Twitter
To avoid distortions or misunderstanding stemming from my previous thread in Azerbaijani, I decided to translate it into English and add a few more thoughts. You`re more than welcome to criticize.
(0/13)
(0/13)
Azerbaijani nationalism as a reaction
Having formed national identity (Self) during First Karabakh War, Azerbaijani nationalism has evolved as reaction to Armenian (Other) nationalism and poorly imitated Arm. narratives.
Several competitive narratives can be checked: (1/13)
Having formed national identity (Self) during First Karabakh War, Azerbaijani nationalism has evolved as reaction to Armenian (Other) nationalism and poorly imitated Arm. narratives.
Several competitive narratives can be checked: (1/13)
1) Antiquity: Azerbaijanis have unluckily fallen into the trap of antiquity race initiated by Armenians. The attempts to antiquate own origins were/are supposed to justify "only the oldest deserve to live in these lands" narratives. (2/13)
Pioneered by Z.Bunyadov, Azerbaijani attempts to seek older roots intensified in recent years due to Armenian pseudointellectual and ridiculous "Older Coca-Cola" claims.
Against Urartu, we present Mannea; against Yerevan`s 2800th jubilee, we celebrate 4,000-year-old Ganja. (3/13)
Against Urartu, we present Mannea; against Yerevan`s 2800th jubilee, we celebrate 4,000-year-old Ganja. (3/13)
Extreme dimension of antiquity race supposes wiping off Other`s name/history/culture from region: Persianization(+Turkmenization) vs Albanization.
Armenian attempts to Persianize Azerbaijani heritage across Armenia and Karabakh are responded with Albanization policy . (4/13)
Armenian attempts to Persianize Azerbaijani heritage across Armenia and Karabakh are responded with Albanization policy . (4/13)
2) Irredentism: Armenian territorial claims to Karabakh and Nakhchivan have triggered similar Azerbaijani claims to Zangazur and Erivan and generated the "Western Azerbaijan" discourse. (5/13)
3) Victimhood: An image of a long-suffering nation and genocide narratives give Armenians at least one-score-lead in every Armenian-Azerbaijani rivalry, by securing international sympathy by default... (6/13)
Thus, the Azerbaijanis have counter-constructed similar victimhood and genocide stories given the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, the existence of hundreds of thousands of IDPs and the Armenian-committed massacres (1918, 1992 Khojaly). (7/13)
A number of foreign "experts" or mere discussants dealing with the region often forget or ignore the key element of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: chronology. (8/13)
Chronologically, the Azerbaijanis were subject to and victims of the very first pogroms and deportations (1987, Armenia) and first bloodshed in Karabakh: all these events led to a subsequent chain of reactions by the Azerbaijanis. (9/13)
Most recently, when the Armenians expressed concern about the fate/Albanization of monasteries (e.g. Dadivank), the Azerbaijanis immediately recalled their destroyed and/or Persianized mosques (Blue mosque in Yerevan, Govhar Agha mosque in Shusha). (10/13)
When referring to the exodus of the illegal settlers from Kalbajar, the Azerbaijanis reacted again by remembering how "we were given 10 hours, not 10 days", "we ran barefoot, not by cars", etc. (11/13)
Younger than, inspired by and usually trailing behind Armenian nationalism, Azerbaijani nationalism has been kind of a response/reaction to destructive ethnocentrism of neighbor, who constructs Azerbaijanis as alien and inferior, giving little room for compatibility. (12/13)
As Arm. narratives have normally shaped this enmity, with Azer-s reacting to them, copying their trends and adapting into own discourse, overall reconciliation depends on minimization of destructive nature of the former. The latter will likely respond (again) accordingly. (13/13)
More proof about the Azerbaijanis simply copying Armenian trends as part of the actual conflict, war of narratives/myths/rhetoric and action:
1) Destroying the Shusha sign
1) Destroying the Shusha sign
2) The 'Karabakh is Azerbaijan' truck was a direct response to the Armenian installation, a public toilet, whose outside wall was decorated with (Soviet) Azerbaijani license plates taken in Karabakh in early 1990s.
3) The episode of Armenian soldiers forcing Azerbaijani POW to sing in chorus, too, boomeranged years later as Azerbaijanis treated captive Armenians similar way, making them sing and march, and didnt even forget to shout the same "Gromche" (Louder) just like in earlier episode.
