Azerbaijan: The Exported Leader
The Cult of Personality around Heydar Aliyev
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
For a decade, Baku has been promoting the memory of Heydar Aliyev on the international stage by sponsoring Aliyev monuments and parks outside Azerbaijan. While much of Azerbaijan’s population is still living below the poverty line despite enormous oil revenues, Baku is buying permission to export the cult of Aliyev. This contributes neither to Azerbaijan’s democratisation nor to the improvement of its image on the international stage. At the same time, it calls into question the democratic reputation of those countries that engage in this game.
(Osteuropa 7-10/2015, pp. 599–612)