Jan 25, 2012

Sponsor: Fellows

What is to be done with Pseudo-Democracies: The Case of Azerbaijan

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Hikmet Hadjy-zadeh, Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow

Comments:
Sharon Wolchik, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs,The Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University

Moderator:
Nadia Diuk, National Endowment for Democracy

About the Event

Since the end of the Cold War, political scientists and policy makers alike have grappled with how best to classify regimes as they “transition” to democracy with trajectories that are neither straightforward nor smooth. Terms such as “hybrid regime,” “electoral autocracy,” and “semi-authoritarianism” have populated the academic discourse, with policy implications for Western democracy assistance programs and diplomacy.

Sometimes these terms may have positive connotations and are used to provide “scientific cover” for autocratic regimes. In the case of Azerbaijan, for example, political “reforms” constitute little more than window dressing, and serious obstacles to democracy remain in place. Noted Azeri public intellectual Hikmet Hadjy-zadeh discussed the case of his country with insights from a practitioner’s point of view, arguing that these terms have real consequences for democracy advocates in the field.

At this event, Mr. Hadjy-Zadeh highlighted important trends in democratization worldwide and offered specific recommendations for confronting the challenge of pseudo-democracies for both governmental and non-governmental actors. Dr. Sharon Wolchik provided comments.

About the Speakers

Mr. Hikmet Hadjy-zadeh is the co-founder and president of the Far Centre for Economic and Political Research, a Baku-based think tank that conducts research on economic and political reform, press and religious freedoms, rule of law, and institutional strengthening aimed at deepening democracy in Azerbaijan. He previously served as Azerbaijan’s vice-premier and ambassador to Russia, and as a journalist, political party leader, and creator and webmaster of Democracy House (www.kitabxana.org), the first online library of the social sciences in the Azeri language. He is the author of Democracy: A Long Way to Go (2001), an Azeri-language reader featuring classics of democracy and democratic reform, from Plato to Václav Havel. During his fellowship, Mr. Hadjy-Zadeh plans to examine the phenomenon of pseudo-democratic regimes, using Azerbaijan as his primary case study. He also plans to identify the reforms that would be needed to make countries democratic not merely in name, but also in practice.

Dr. Sharon Wolchik, a former Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow, is a professor of political science and international affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University.