Russia‘s Interventions in

Ethnic Conflicts

The Case of Armenia

and Azerbaijan

James J. Coyle

Russia’s Interventions in Ethnic Conflicts

James J. Coyle

Russia’s Interventions

in Ethnic Conflicts

The Case of Armenia and Azerbaijan

James J. Coyle

Newport Beach, CA, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-59572-2 ISBN 978-3-030-59573-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59573-9

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG

The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

vi PREFACE

It is this third topic to which most of Border Wars dedicated itself. Looking at conflicts in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, I discerned a pattern of Russian support for ethnic minorities, the arming of these minorities’ militant groups, encouraging them directly or indirectly to revolt against the internationally-recognized central government, offering to mediate a peace conference, and ensuring that the conference never creates a workable peace plan. Russia then becomes indispensable: the conflict enters a “frozen” state (although various levels of combat still continue) in which Russia controls the level of violence. This is most obvious with the War in Ukraine between the government in Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists in the East.

After Border Wars was published, many individuals asked for additional information on the four conflicts. As the original book was already over 270 pages in length, I decided not to expand the text further but to write four books: one on each of the frozen conflicts. I decided to tackle the four alphabetically, and so this volume (Armenia and Azerbaijan) is the first in a hoped-for series. The book consists of six chapters: one on the roots of the conflict, and subsequent chapters describing it through military, political, economic, and diplomatic lenses. There is a final chapter with analytic conclusions. Modern conflicts, particularly frozen conflicts, do not rely on a single element of power, but rather rely on multiple instruments. These conflicts may be limited in scope, but they are full spectrum conflicts for the societies affected.

I hope you, the reader, will enjoy reading an in-depth discussion of a conflict in an area little known to American or European audiences.

Armenia (Source US Government Printing Office)

Azerbaijan (Source US Government Printing Office)