October 7, 2023 - 2:00pm
An apathetic Western world has failed to protect the human rights of innocent civilians yet again. At least, that’s what liberal humanitarians believe. Two weeks ago, Azerbaijan launched an offensive against the disputed territory of Karabakh, driving out its unrecognised Armenian government — and most of the Armenian population along with it. A chorus of voices, including former Hague prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, has slammed the “international community” for its inaction. Freedom House called for “international advocacy” to protect Armenia and its vibrant “civil society” from “authoritarian regimes”.
It’s a common mistake to chalk up tragedies in the world to Western inaction or negligence. Many well-meaning advocates believe that the West is basically a benevolent force that only needs to be roused to action. But in Karabakh, as in other places, the West itself is part of the problem. Western governments have either actively supported Azerbaijan in its wars against Armenia, or turned a blind eye while bolstering Azerbaijani capabilities.
The relationship between Azerbaijan and NATO member Turkey is often described as “one nation, two states”. The Western-trained and -armed Turkish military often holds drills with the Azerbaijani army. Turkish drones, praised for their ability to hold Russia at bay in Ukraine, rained hellfire on Armenian forces during the 2020 war in Karabakh.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s largest arms dealer is Israel, the American sweetheart in the Middle East, which provided about 60% of Azerbaijani arms imports from 2017 to 2020. Israel’s supporters in Washington have also lobbied for Azerbaijan, portraying the former Soviet republic as an oasis of Jewish prosperity in the Muslim world. In return, Azerbaijan sells Israel natural gas. More importantly, Azerbaijan has granted Israel access to staging grounds on the Iranian border, key for both intelligence operations and any future war against Iran.
The United States and Europe have tried to play peacemaker in Karabakh, and now express their concern for the fate of Karabakh’s Armenians. Because public sympathy lies with Armenia — a beleaguered democracy, a Christian-majority state, and a nation of genocide-survivors — politicians in Washington and Brussels have to make a show of caring for Armenians’ human rights. Buoyed by Western funding, thousands of “civil society” NGOs have popped up in Karabakh and Armenia proper. After Karabakh fell, the United States and the European Union immediately offered $16.5 million in aid to Armenian refugees.
Yet these Western powers have historically been far more eager to court Azerbaijan, and to offer that state the tools of hard power. For the last 20 years, the United States has provided Azerbaijan with hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid as a reward for allowing US supply lines in Afghanistan to pass through Azerbaijani territory. A few months ago, the European Union announced a plan to substitute Azerbaijani natural gas for Russian imports, and sweetened the deal with a €2 billion investment offer.
Padded by Western support, Azerbaijan’s economy and military budget has now massively outgrown that of Armenia over the past three decades. The historian Greg Grandin’s description of US policy in Central America seems appropriate for the Western approach towards Karabakh as well: “promote reform and fund militarism, and watch the militarists murder the reformers.”
Join the discussion
Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber
To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.
Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.
SubscribeThere are 3 powers in the region, Russia, Turkey, and Iran. A small country like Armenia needs to ally with at least one, its never going to be Turkey, so that leaves Russia or Iran, the idiot president of Armenia decided to ally with the US. the man is a fool
The author claims that, ‘Padded by Western support, Azerbaijan’s economy and military budget has now massively outgrown that of Armenia over the past three decades’. It wasn’t ‘Western support’ that enabled this but the fact that Azerbaijan has lots of oil and gas that it has developed and Armenia has nothing much at all.
Reading it, I can’t find in this article how Armenia allied with Russia from the 90s on and gained control of this piece territory from Azerbaijan using Russian military hardware, or how they’ve been close allies since then. Quite odd.
The inhabitants of this region have been unfortunate in that far too many outsiders have been far too ‘interested’ in them for far too long.
Changed my mind
Azerbaijan has a legally backed claim to Nagorno-Karabakh (rules-based international order and all that). The economic relationship with Azerbaijan is profitable and mutually beneficial (as if that were a bad thing!).Turkey is a member of NATO in good standing. Israel is one of the United States’ oldest and most reliable allies, going back to the very foundation of the State of israel in 1948. Azerbaijan is a good counterbalance to Iran, Azerbaijan being a friendly Shiite Muslim country.
What is Armenia’s excuse? Neither the separatist ethnic Armenians (“Sudeten” Armenians, if you will) nor the Armenian government have a good claim to the territory, besides a fanciful and entirely contrived solidarity with Armenian “Christians”, forgetting that the Armenian Church is not even in communion with the Eastern Heterodox (Chalcedonian) churches, let alone the Catholic Church. And who are Armenia’s allies? Russia (again the Eastern Heterodox fantasies of Russia as the “Third Rome” are a factor), perennially anti-American and currently waging its own war, initially fought on the pretext of helping separatist ethnic Russians (“Sudeten” Russians, if you will) in Ukraine. And Iran, an viciously anti-American, anti-Israeli, anti-Sunni, international troublemaker and agent provocateur.
Where is Azerbajain? I’m sorry, I know every petty border conflict and ethnic spat in the world should be really, really important to all of us all the time – because that’s what we do, as superior, righteous liberals – but I chose not to care.