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DEFINITIONS
OF NATIONALISM AND NATIONAL |
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Assoc.
Prof. Dr. Ceylan TOKLUOŠLU |
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This article examines the major political debates in post-Soviet
Azerbaijan in connection to the very assumptions of individual
autonomy, equality, national culture and citizenship, and universalism
upon which modern nation-states have historically been based.
The information presented in this article is based personal interviews
conducted with the leading and influential members of the Azerbaijani
political elite in 1998. The interviews were based on two broad
themes. The first relates to the perceptions of the Soviet period
and on what grounds the Azerbaijanis differentiate the new Republic
of Azerbaijan from the former Soviet Azerbaijan. Second relates
to their perceptions of both the outside world and of themselves
in relation to different perceptions of nationalism, national
culture, and national/ethnic or local identities. The study of
the Azerbaijani example may help us to understand the dynamics
of nation building on the basis of the sources of major political
debates and of conflicting national and local identities. |
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