PROTRACTED CONFLICT AND CHANGED DISCOURSES: A SURVEY OF THE DISCOURSES OF AZERBAIJANI LEADERSHIP

Abstract

Close to the end of 2020, the nominal ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan broke and the clashes turned into a large-scale warfare. While this development was portrayed as unexpected by some, an inquiry into discourses may prove the opposite. This article therefore aims to reveal the changes in Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s discourses on the ArmeniaAzerbaijan relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict throughout his administration. Two periods, 2003–2018 and 2018–2020, are compared as there occurred significant changes on the both sides to the conflict. The author uses politolinguistic discourse analysis to qualitatively analyze nominations, predications, and argumentations employed by Aliyev. The findings have shown that Aliyev has diversified both nominations and predications and put forward more arguments that signaled continuation of enmity and escalation of the conflict since 2018. This study has been an attempt to fill the gap in the literature related to conflict and discourse at large and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in particular.

Keywords

• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Conflict
• Discourse
• Nagorno-Karabakh

SÜRÜNCEMEDE KALMIŞ ÇATIŞMA VE DEĞİŞTİRİLEN SÖYLEMLER: AZERBAYCAN CUMHURBAŞKANI’NIN SÖYLEMLERİ ÜZERİNE BİR ARAŞTIRMA

Abstract

: 2020’nin sonlarına doğru Ermenistan ile Azerbaycan arasında sözde ateşkes bozuldu ve çatışmalar geniş çaplı bir savaşa dönüştü. Bu gelişme, bazıları tarafından beklenmedik olarak tasvir edilirken, söylemler üzerine bir araştırma bunun tam tersini kanıtlayabilir. Dolayısıyla, bu makale, Azerbaycan Cumhurbaşkanı İlham Aliyev’in yönetimi boyunca Ermenistan-Azerbaycan ilişkileri ve Dağlık Karabağ Sorunu ile ilgili söylemlerindeki değişiklikleri ortaya çıkarmayı amaçlamaktadır. Çatışmanın her iki tarafında da önemli değişiklikler meydana geldiğinden, 2003–2018 ve 2018–2020 olmak üzere iki dönem karşılaştırılmaktadır. Aliyev tarafından kullanılan adlandırmalar, yüklemlemeler ve argümanları nitel olarak analiz etmek için politolinguistik söylem analizi kullanılmaktadır. Bulgular, Aliyev’in 2018'den bu yana hem adlandırmalar, hem de yüklemlemeleri çeşitlendirdiğini ve uyuşmazlığın devam edeceğine ve çatışmanın tırmanacağına işaret eden daha fazla argüman ortaya koyduğunu göstermektedir. Bu çalışma, literatürdeki genelde çatışma ve söylem ilişkisi, özelde ise Dağlık Karabağ Sorunu konusunda mevcut olan boşluğu doldurmaya yönelik bir girişim olarak görülmelidir.

Keywords

• Ermenistan
• Azerbaycan
• Çatışma
• Söylem
• Dağlık Karabağ

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