Frustrated democracy in post-Soviet Azerbaijan / Audrey L. Altstadt.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Frustrated Democracy in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan follows a newly independent oil-rich former Soviet republic as it adopts a Western model of democratic government and then turns toward corrupt authoritarianism. Audrey L. Altstadt begins with the Nagorno-Karabagh War (1988-1994) which triggered Azerbaijani nationalism and set the stage for the development of a democratic movement. Initially successful, this government soon succumbed to a coup. Western oil companies arrived and money flowed in--a quantity Altstadt calls "almost unimaginable"--causing the regime to resort to repression to maintain its power. Despite Azerbaijan's long tradition of secularism, political Islam emerged as an attractive alternative for those frustrated with the stifled democratic opposition and the lack of critique of the West's continued political interference.

Altstadt's work draws on instances of censorship in the Azerbaijani press, research by embedded experts and nongovernmental and international organizations, and interviews with diplomats and businesspeople. The book is an essential companion to her earlier works, The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity Under Russian Rule and The Politics of Culture in Soviet Azerbaijan, 1920-1940 .

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

A pertinent contribution to post-Soviet literature, this volume reveals the contemporary problems facing Azerbaijan in terms of democratic consolidation and how they are products of the Azeri government. This is important because for once a work does not take the easy way out and focus on the convenient foils used by many post-Soviet regimes: Russian interference or Western indifference. The author grounds the reader in the historical record, though this is somewhat overemphasized, taking up the first 100 pages of the book. It is the second half, which deals with natural resources, international political economy, government repression, social media, and grassroots youth activism, that truly makes an original contribution to the field and adds significantly to the body of knowledge when it comes to Azerbaijan specifically and Caucasus studies in general. It is clear that the author has an agenda in writing the book: to expose corruption and democratic deficiencies in the hopes of spurring greater democratic reform and stabilization. Thus, sources are all geared to proving that agenda. Not a problem, necessarily, but it results in a somewhat one-sided presentation of facts and consequences. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Matthew D. Crosston, ModernDiplomacy.eu