Disir
Platinum Member
- Sep 30, 2011
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For a long time, the U.S. has seen Azerbaijan, the oil-and-gas-rich, human-rights-poor former Soviet Republic, in much the same way that Allen and John Foster Dulles saw the entire world in the nineteen-fifties. For the brothers—one running the C.I.A., the other running the State Department—the rest of the globe was infinitely malleable around the interests of the U.S. In today’s geopolitics, Azerbaijan is tiny but crucial. It is a nation with a population of ten million and geographically about the size of Minnesota, but it can serve as an alternative source of oil and gas for Europe through two pipelines. The oil pipeline is complete; the one for gas is under construction. Without Azerbaijan, more than a third of the gas used by the European Union will continue to come from Russia. Putin uses the implicit threat of cutting off the gas—especially during winter—to keep nato somewhat in line.
If these were still like the days of the Dulles brothers, America might ask nothing more of the Azerbaijani government than that it provide a political stumbling block to Russia. The country could imprison, murder, or torture its enemies—or anybody, for that matter—and extract all the wealth it wanted; America would still call it an ally and support it. Under President George W. Bush and, even more so, under President Obama, however, the U.S. has asked for more than the Dulles brothers ever would. Yes, Azerbaijan imprisons some journalists and politicians who challenge the regime, but it doesn’t torture or kill them, and it allows some freedom of the press. The U.S. has expected Azerbaijan to promise some improvement. The experience of the journalist Khadija Ismayilova is an example of Azerbaijan’s odd approach to meeting these expectations. Ismayilova was able to reveal absurd levels of corruption in the country. She was spied on, pressured, and, eventually, arrested. But the authorities bowed to international pressure and released her, though she is not permitted to leave the country. This is no great triumph. Azerbaijan is still an autocracy, but it’s a far less violent and brutal one than, say, Iran and Guatemala after their Dulles-orchestrated coups.
How Trump Is Quietly Dismantling the Architecture of Global Governance
Alternatively, the US had no intention of following it to begin with. A model is worth nothing if it cannot be implemented.
If these were still like the days of the Dulles brothers, America might ask nothing more of the Azerbaijani government than that it provide a political stumbling block to Russia. The country could imprison, murder, or torture its enemies—or anybody, for that matter—and extract all the wealth it wanted; America would still call it an ally and support it. Under President George W. Bush and, even more so, under President Obama, however, the U.S. has asked for more than the Dulles brothers ever would. Yes, Azerbaijan imprisons some journalists and politicians who challenge the regime, but it doesn’t torture or kill them, and it allows some freedom of the press. The U.S. has expected Azerbaijan to promise some improvement. The experience of the journalist Khadija Ismayilova is an example of Azerbaijan’s odd approach to meeting these expectations. Ismayilova was able to reveal absurd levels of corruption in the country. She was spied on, pressured, and, eventually, arrested. But the authorities bowed to international pressure and released her, though she is not permitted to leave the country. This is no great triumph. Azerbaijan is still an autocracy, but it’s a far less violent and brutal one than, say, Iran and Guatemala after their Dulles-orchestrated coups.
How Trump Is Quietly Dismantling the Architecture of Global Governance
Alternatively, the US had no intention of following it to begin with. A model is worth nothing if it cannot be implemented.
