“Justice” as Dead End or Way Out
Strategies of Conflict Resolution for Nagorno-Karabakh
Aser Babajew, Xenija Grusha, Vera Rogova
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The concept of justice is difficult to exclude from conflicts and resolution strategies. Frequently, it plays a negative, hardening role. In the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia argues the right to self-determination of peoples, Azerbaijan the right of territorial integrity. Both sides link their approach to the pursuit of “historical justice” in order to lend more legitimacy to their demands. This charges the conflict emotionally and makes it difficult to find a balance between the conflicting principles of international law. If forward-looking principles of justice were considered instead of backward-looking ones, a resolution of the conflict could be found. It is the responsibility of external mediators to make sure that this happens.
(Osteuropa 7/2014, pp. 105–120)