The Armenian‐Azerbaijani conflict: Structure and sentiment (original) (raw)

Third World Quarterly, 1989

Abstract

One can only refer to the recent Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in the Soviet Union as a terrible tragedy. This is not only because of the loss of life and the associated disruptions. It is also a tragedy because the events reveal how frail any peace can be, how futile unsubstantiated expressions of inter-ethnic harmony voiced by government authorities can be, and how enduring the yoke of Empire can be. For these reasons, the wider connotations of the conflict are of concern not only for those connected with Soviet affairs but also for all fellow human beings. In particular, those concerned with the Third World will find several parallels with other histories and other destinies. The criterion used for selecting some thoughts on the conflict was to seek out their relevance for compiling comparative data rather than for analytical perspectives, despite the interesting implications for the latter. For this purpose too, issues have not been placed in any implicit theoretical framework other than one from which the deduction is made that particular aspects of the Soviet system (called 'structures' for the sake of simplicity) are directly related to the sentiments which have been expressed by the protagonists.

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