“Azerbaijan has become an international platform of global scale”, “Important messages have been delivered from Azerbaijan to the world”, “The world’s attention is once again on Azerbaijan”, “Azerbaijan has once again come forward with an important international initiative”, “Azerbaijan stands at the intersection of important logistical projects” – we must admit that such expressions no longer surprise anyone. Our public has even become accustomed to them, and this habit has, for some reason, formed in a very short period of time. It is as if, after gaining independence, our country did not experience a painful period of occupation, did not lose sovereignty and territorial integrity, our people did not live in wartime conditions, we did not have more than a million refugees and internally displaced persons, and we did not rejoice like children when the opportunity arose to find Azerbaijan on the world’s political map and show it to an audience during international events. It is as if we opened our eyes and suddenly saw the USA as our strategic partner, and have always been capable of openly defending national interests without fear of anyone and acting as an equal partner in the system of international relations. It is as if someone gifted us the title of “Victorious People” and national unity from the outside. Of course not! All achievements are the result of a principled position, unwavering political will, great labor, magnificent patience, and a perfect political strategy executed with jeweler-like precision. In order to preserve the true value of such important achievements that can keep independence eternal, one must not forget the past period.
We can say without hesitation or doubt that the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum, held on July 13-14 under the theme “Media Mission in Promoting Peace: Restoring Truth and Rebuilding Trust”, is a direct manifestation and continuation of the strategy we are discussing. The ideas reflected in the speech of President Ilham Aliyev, who spoke on the first day of the event, shed light on the principled emphases of that conditional strategy. The “colorfully emotional” gossip circulating around the Forum thanks to social networks indicates that the strategic emphases voiced by the President have made some people very uncomfortable.
It is no coincidence that during the days the Forum was held, social networks were “covered” with biased, manipulative information far from objectivity and professionalism, with the aim of distracting the local and international public from important strategic messages and diminishing the political significance of the event. The speed at which the information in the commissioned content of the provocateurs is spread is truly enviable. In this sense, we can easily assume that the spread of provocative information on social networks is not accidental and that this work was organized in a centralized manner.
Every answer given by President Ilham Aliyev to the questions asked by journalists within the framework of the event deserves to be a subject of special research. Not only because these answers belong to the head of state, but also because the content and depth of each idea voiced, as well as its strategic purpose, force one to think. In the current situation, it is absolutely impossible to be limited to just narrating events. Every idea we heard here is, without exception, oriented towards the future and serves to define the national development model for the future. The President’s words: “Our people have seen occupation, have seen destruction, have seen Victory, and today they both see this period of restoration and revival and are participants in it. Therefore, these words of mine are for future generations, for the young generation, so that the Azerbaijani people live forever as a proud people, as a victorious people; national identity must be above everything, national dignity must be above everything.” – also indicate that a state policy calculated for the future is being implemented in our country in principle. We must take into account that this type of policy stands far away from the “mischievous” demagoguery that radicals love more than their own lives, which sometimes earns them cheap dividends and is calculated for instant results.
To know the real reasons for the “dirty” information manipulations carried out regarding the Forum, we must first identify the factors that caused anxiety and aggressive comments. Why did this particular event face aggressive comments in the internet space? Is it not because such events take away the last tool of villainy from the hands of provocateurs? Thanks to the reforms carried out and the intensively promoted political dialogue environment, political parties, which were previously used as a tool of manipulation, have been taken away from those who wished to disrupt stability and keep the country under constant influence. Now, those same forces are facing the threat of losing the information platforms they cherished. Of course, the limitation of the influence and coverage of various internet platforms, which are the last island of provocations, is equal to a tragedy for those forces. Yes, the dark hopes of interfering in the internal processes of a state that pursues an independent policy and has won can only be related to information provocations. Every responsible citizen must definitely take this determination into account.
Undoubtedly, there are other factors that have caused the anxiety of notorious forces. Yes, all of President Ilham Aliyev’s statements regarding “independent policy” create irritation in certain circles. It is precisely due to the existence of the potential to pursue an independent policy that the President effectively formalized the state’s “middle power” status at the current event. The mentioned event is already the beginning of the next stage of the development strategy we discussed above.
“Perhaps for this reason, a number of experts call us a middle power, and to be honest, I do not object to this,” – these words of the President are not just a social order given to the relevant state bodies, nor are these words a call addressed to the international community. These words of the President are the embodiment of the new geopolitical claim that Azerbaijan deserves. Azerbaijan is already one of the power centers that regional and world states reckon with – this is the main factor that creates irritation in some. The clownery that we are sometimes forced to observe on social networks is an emotional reaction to that irritation.
In a geopolitical sense, “middle power” does not just mean having the relevant resources; it is a perspective and a unique strategic path. The “middle power” status places a specific state among the world’s powerful countries, which forces one to reckon with you in the system of international relations. The President’s next words point to the truth of the determination we mentioned: “The South Caucasus has changed, and fundamentally so. In this case, it can perhaps be said that the Second Karabakh War played a driving role in that matter.” Therefore, the “middle power” claim is also another piece of the strategy calculated for the future. To imagine the mentioned claim more clearly in the ideological plane, let us make a small comparison: “Sometimes the factor that makes a person successful and healthily ambitious is not the amount of funds in their pocket, but the destination of the path they are taking. This is the ideological message that President Ilham Aliyev conveys to future generations! It is precisely this approach and this way of thinking that can make an individual, society, and state invincible.
“Middle power” status is also important because this geopolitical status cannot allow anyone to involve Azerbaijan in any adventure. Therefore, propaganda in this direction must be carried out on all possible planes. The Forum held in Shusha itself indicates that the government is constantly looking for new propaganda formats and does not shy away from taking steps that might even be considered risky in this work. For example, although the Shusha Forum was devoted more to the discussion of practical issues and specific methods, the discussions held at traditional conferences organized at ADA with the participation of representatives of the world’s think tanks are more academic in content. In any case, it is time to fill the already formalized “middle power” status with ideological content.
Politoloq Asif Adil