Azerbaijan's Foreign Policy: Between East and West ...

Azerbaijan is at the crossroads between East and West. Its geopolitical location is both its challenge and its major asset. This paper analyses the general state of relations of Azerbaijan with its largest and geopolitically most important neighbours as well as with other international players in order to see how Azerbaijan is able to maintain a balanced approach in foreign policy, manoeuvring politically between the clashing geopolitical interests and ambitions of the different states in the South Caucasus. It is argued that due to its choices in foreign policy and strong focus on the effective development of its economy, Azerbaijan vies to maintain an independent course.

Revised version of a paper presented at the seminar on "Azerbaijan's Foreign Policy Priorities: Regional and European Dimension", Rome, 8 November 2012.
Paper produced within the framework of the project "Azerbaijan, Caucasus and the EU: Towards Close Cooperation? ".