Mammadov: Absolute sovereignty is the goal of the Azerbaijanism national idea

Defining absolute sovereignty as the goal of the Azerbaijanism national idea is necessary for full-fledged state-building and nation-building, said Farhad Mammadov, deputy chairman of the board of the Center for Analysis of International Relations and Multiculturalism.

For a long period the national idea was aimed at liberating the occupied territories and restoring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan, he said. That goal was reached in 2020 and in 2023, and Azerbaijanism served to unite society around a nationwide aim.

In his speeches President Ilham Aliyev pointed to the unity of the Azerbaijani people and to the capacity it gives the authorities to withstand external pressure, Mammadov said.

The present historical period is marked by the breakdown of the system of international relations and the collapse of every possible mechanism of deterrence and balance, he said. Geopolitical shocks will turn into an impassable obstacle, traditional military-political and economic blocs are going through an internal crisis, and international transport and logistics routes that looked unshakeable have become a space of war and confrontation.

All of this pushes countries to take greater responsibility for their own geography, in a process that can be called the return of sovereignty, Mammadov said.

Small and medium-sized states have to face pressure from geopolitical centers of power, which takes the form of information attacks, ideological subversion and direct aggression, he said. Sovereignty is of strategic importance for securing the state, for public unity, for the ability to choose a development path and for preserving identity.

Aliyev compares ideological security with physical security, Mammadov said, because attacks with ideological content are aimed at splitting society and setting one social group against another. Such an approach runs counter to the Azerbaijanism national idea.

The mechanisms and tools for reaching this goal should be understood by Azerbaijan's expert circles and enriched with content and concepts, he said. The internal unity of Azerbaijani society is the guarantee of stability, and without that stability the goals of national development cannot be achieved.