| ID | 156107 |
| Title Proper | Contested spaces |
| Other Title Information | the use of place-names and symbolic landscape in the politics of identity and legitimacy in Azerbaijan |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Saparov, Arsène |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This article deals with the political manipulation of symbolic landscape, using post-Soviet Azerbaijan as a case study. In particular, it looks at the practice of toponym changes as an element of political legitimization and national identity-making. The political use and manipulation of place-names and symbolic landscape is a relatively recent phenomenon that became particularly widespread in the twentieth century. It is widely used for ideological or nationalist purposes throughout the world – from Iran to Israel, from former Yugoslavia to the USSR. However, I argue that post-Soviet Azerbaijan represents an unusual case where one can clearly see strikingly different patterns of place-name manipulation in the pursuit of political legitimacy. It argues that while questions of political legitimacy and nationalism found their reflection in the policy of place-name manipulation, their uses followed clearly different routes and were confined to separate areas. |
| `In' analytical Note | Central Asian Survey Vol. 36, No.4; Dec 2017: p.534-554 |
| Journal Source | Central Asian Survey Vol: 36 No 4 |
| Key Words | Nationalism ; Ethnic Conflict ; Caucasus ; Political Legitimacy ; Karabakh ; Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict ; Place-Names ; Personality Cult |