Beyond Karabagh Dispute: The Ethos of Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict

• In Event: Illiberalism, Secession and Post-Colonialism

Abstract

The Nagorno Karabagh conflict ended with the 2020 war and 2023 operations Azerbaijan took full control of the former secessionist region and ended its existence. Indeed, there were ongoing negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia that did not effectively resolve the conflict and ended enmity between the two nations by peaceful means. In contrast, the last war exacerbated ongoing hate, tensions, dehumanization, and inter-ethnic hatred discourses between two nations that existed for more than thirty years. Using Bar-Tal’s ethos of conflict theory, the paper explores Armenian and Azerbaijan inter-ethnic hatred and constructed narratives and discloses socio-psychological hinders to the peace and reconciliation between the two nations. The article presents a meta-synthesis of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict by analyzing existing literature and uncovering the causes and origins of the conflict. The article presents three dimensions (social, intellectual, and political) of enmity and hatred that created the ethos of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and prevented conciliation between the two nations.

Author

• Javadbay Khalilzada, Kent State University