Baku's Quest to Become a Major City: Did the Dubai Model Work?

Baku's post-Soviet development has been marked by massive deindustrialization, gentrification of the city core, and commercialization of the downtown area. The oil boom brought not only relative economic prosperity but also a new vision of urban development. In their quest to make Baku the leading city in the region, urban administrators have chosen Dubai as a model of development. A decade of emulating Dubai's success has shown that despite the fact that Baku employed the right strategies, many factors prevented Azerbaijan’s capital to reach the same level of development as Dubai

Urban Development Baku: From Soviet Past To Modern Future

During the Soviet period, Baku was one of the major industrial cities in the Soviet Union. The post-Soviet history of Baku has witnessed a major re-planning and reconstruction of the city with the aim of making the capital the major city of the region. As oil revenues began to flow, the government of Azerbaijan poured billions of dollars into various projects in Baku, making the city the part of its grand strategy of advertising the country. Meanwhile, the model of Dubai became an exceedingly attractive model for the administration of Baku. This article describes the major processes and key forces underlying the transformation of Baku and examines the problems haunting the city

Local Governments in Azerbaijan: A Long Way To Go

Ever since Azerbaijan established the municipality system in 1999, local governments have faced many problems, including the absence of financial independence, duplication of administrative functions, and low trust on the part of the population. Despite calls to further decentralize the system, the government has made little progress while still keeping the old system of regional executive powers, which deprives the municipalities of their functions. However, the growing cost of running the public administration system, social issues, and financial problems may force the government to move forward with decentralization reforms

Building Smart Cities in Azerbaijan: Hard to Conceptualise, Difficult to Build

This article opens a general discussion about the concept of the 'smart city' and how it can be understood in the context of urban affairs. Furthermore, it discusses the problems of conceptualisation and operationalisation of smart city projects in Azerbaijan and elsewhere, and the ways in which they can lead to project failure. The article also addresses the problems of implementation of the smart city concept in the country and discusses how to adapt general visions and global aspirations for smart and sustainable cities to the Azerbaijani context. Furthermore, the author suggests which metrics and policy domains the authorities should consider when translating the smart city visions into policy. He discusses the preconditions for success, and whether Azerbaijan has the necessary infrastructure and specialists for its implementation

One Year After the Karabakh War: What Is the Kremlin Up To?

Following the 44-day war in September-November 2020, Azerbaijan liberated its seven occupied territories and established control over part of Karabakh. However, another part of Karabakh fell under the control of Russian peacekeepers, who will stay in the region until 2025. The main question that concerns the political establishment and the public in both Armenia and Azerbaijan is the fate of these territories. Which of the plethora of existing cases (Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Crimea, Donbass, Transnistria) will serve as a model for Russia’s involvement? So far, Russian action in Karabakh suggests that Moscow is following the approach taken in South Ossetia. However, the involvement of Turkey, the absence of direct borders, and the strength of Azerbaijan may lead to a different outcome. The absence of a comprehensive peace agreement and dependence on the statement from November 10, 2020, complicate the situation, making future uncertainties and even conflict realistic. The article tries to analyze and predict Russian actions in Karabakh and the implications thereof for the broader region

Azerbaijan Amid the Ukrainian Crisis: Perceptions, Implications and Expectations

The Ukrainian crisis has greatly affected the political and economic perception of the Azerbaijani public and has had huge implications for the country's development. The war has put the country in an uneasy condition, in which Baku needs to balance with Moscow on the issue of Karabakh and work closely with the West in ensuring its energy security. Moreover, the continued standoff between Russia and the EU/USA limits Azerbaijan's field for manoeuvring, and it has taken criticism from both sides. It seems obvious that Azerbaijan will continue its policy of "silent diplomacy" that tipulates to not irritate the powerful centres as well as its policy of restoration of territorial integrity and keeping its independence as a country hrough small steps and actions

Late Cenozoic Collisional Volcanism in the Central Part of the Lesser Caucasus (Azerbaijan)

The chapter is devoted to petrogeochemical features of late Cenozoic collision volcanism of the Lesser Caucasus. It was determined that at the early and middle stages of crystallization of the rocks of the andesite-dacite-rhyolite association, amphibole fractionation played an important role in the formation of subsequent differentials. On the basis of computer modeling, it was found that when mixing andesite and rhyolite (taken as a contaminant) magma, it is possible to obtain a rock of dacitic composition. Under conditions of high water pressure, as a result of fractionation of olivine and pyroxene from primary high magnesian magma, high-alumina basalts are formed, which can be considered as the parent magma.Geochemical features of moderately alkaline olivine basalts indicate that the source of magma is metasomaticized, phlogopite-garnet-rutile containing lithospheric mantle. The evolution of moderately alkaline olivine basalts occurs due to changes in the composition of the main rock-forming and accessory minerals. Medium rock formations are formed by the assimilation of poorly differentiated primary magma by an acidic melt. The calculations have shown that proportion of melting rhyolitic melt separated from andesite substrate is close to 15%. After removal of the remaining melt, restite is entirely consistent with the composition of the lower earth crust

THE APPLICATION OF AMINO AND HYDROXYETHYL IMIDAZOLINES OF PETROLEUM ACIDS AS MULTIFUNCTIONAL ADDITIVES FOR DIESEL FUEL

In this research, the influence of amino- and hydroxyethyl imidazolines of petroleum acids on the antistatic property and lubricity of diesel fuel has been studied. The researches illustrated that when the boiling point of petroleum acid fractions increases, the influence of imidazolines on the antistatic property and lubricity of diesel fuel decreases. Besides, it has been known that, the influence of aminoethyl imidazolines of petroleum acids on the antistatic property and lubricity of diesel fuel is better than the influence of hydroxyethyl imidazolines, On the other hand, it has been revealed that, when imidazolines of petroleum acids are added to the diesel fuel, the antistatic effect increases over time

Do university graduate competences match post-socialist labour market demands:? Evidence from Azerbaijan

The recruitment and selection process in companies is becoming more complicated as employers place more emphasis on ‘intangible personal qualities’ rather than specialised skills. Employers also require graduates to adapt to the workplace on completion of their education. In particular, following the Bologna Declaration in 1999, the expansion of higher education across Europe has resulted in the questioning of the quality of the graduate labour market. To gain further insight into the mismatch between the employability skills of graduates on the one hand and labour market demands on the other, this paper examines the case of Azerbaijan, a country that is slowly entering the global network. The study synthesised and analysed 24 ‘transferable’ soft skills and competences critical for improved graduate employability, resulting in a  shortlist of the top five competences as ranked by Azerbaijani employers and graduates. More than 2,500 students from six major universities participated in the study which found that there is a huge discrepancy between the skills needed by students and the job market when compared with what is taught at university. Furthermore, it revealed that the absence of these necessary skills is a major factor preventing students from finding jobs

The quest for political reform in Azerbaijan : what role for the Transatlantic community?

Anar Valiye