A Failed Test of Democracy
Azerbaijan’s 2005 Parliamentary Election
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
After the democratic departures in Georgia and Ukraine, Azerbaijan’s opposition linked the November 2005 parliamentary election in its republic to the hope that something similar to what happened in Tbilisi and Kiev could take place in Baku. The election was seen by observers as the greatest chance for democracy in Azerbaijan as well as the last chance for years to come. But all those involved failed the democracy test: the voters, the political elite and even the West, which gave priority to stability over democracy.
(Osteuropa 3/2006, pp. 33–44)