‘Soft Politics’ of EU doesn’t work on Azerbaijan? A critical study of EU’s ‘reluctant’ policies in the oil-rich post-soviet country.

Since the incorporation into the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), a new struggle has emerged for Azerbaijan, - a country with enormous potential and challenging economic opportunities. This rich-and-poor country, rich in energy but poor in democracy, has become the focus of interest for the major international and regional powers, in particular for the European Union (EU) because of several factors. It, through its natural resources and conditions, is considered to be the wealthiest country in the South Caucasus and, if measured by its GDP growth rate, unsurprisingly can claim to be one of the richest in the world, mostly because of its energy supplies. But as regards to democracy the situation is far more nuanced. The paper aims to examine the EU''s purported ambitious power projection in its territorial (Azerbaijan) and functional (Eastern Partnership) dimensions. It will critically assess the EU’s ''more-for-more'' rhetoric and revisit key questions such as ''why Azerbaijan matters'', and the associated challenging question of ''what to do with Azerbaijan''. Most specifically, it will be argued that in view of the country''s poor democratic record, whether EU’s commitment to promote and support democracy in its neighbourhood can be questioned in this specific case. In this respect, the study will try to shed light to some aspects of EU-Azerbaijan relations in the light of EU’s energy deficit and Azerbaijan’s democracy hindrance. The paper will also have a comparative dimension in and historical reference to examining and learning from the behaviour of the Union’s double-standard by questioning why the EU is ‘tough’ on Minsk but ‘easy’ on Baku. Ultimately, the paper will explore how Azerbaijan have adapted the Union’s normative practices and goals, and which pivotal factors determine the frameworks of EU’s foreign policy tools in Azerbaijan. The paper will offer an in-depth analysis of the implementation and the cumbersome circumstances under which the norms promoted by the EU have been adopted in Azerbaijan, concluding by providing possible strategy alternatives.