Oil and Political Stability in Azerbaijan: The Role of Policy Learning

Author(s): Farid Guliyev
Editor(s): Jeronim Perovic, Lili Di Puppo, Iris Kempe, Heiko Pleines, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung
Series: Caucasus Analytical Digest (CAD)
Issue: 47
Pages: 9-11
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University
Publication Year: 2013

This article discusses several mechanisms by which oil wealth has sustained authoritarian rule in Azerbaijan. While the prevailing focus on patronage spending and repression is undoubtedly accurate, it is nevertheless incomplete because it does not account for oil's adverse effects that can potentially destabilize a country's political-economic system. The article argues that the Azerbaijani leaders' ability to draw lessons from the past experiences of other oil-rich countries and to borrow successful policy models helped the government to mitigate the adverse effects of economic petro-dependence. The example of the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) illustrates the role that policy learning played in the regime's survival.

Download:

English (PDF)