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Nationalism, Secularism, and Islam: Azerbaijani Turks in Azerbaijan and Iran

Ahmadoghlu, Ramin
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1457-9714
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1468337156

Abstract Details

2016, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Political Science.
This dissertation examines the interaction of religion, secularism and nationalism in Iranian (Southern) Azerbaijan and Caucasian Azerbaijan (now the independent Republic of Azerbaijan). Azerbaijans were part of the same political establishment until their split in 1828. Surveying the political trajectories of Northern and Southern Azerbaijan after the separation, this study detects three different degrees of nationalism, conceptualized as assertive nationalism, integrative nationalism, and the absence of ethnic and nationalist consciousness. Assertive nationalism is a nationalist movement that prioritizes ethnic identity and seeks an independent state. Integrationist nationalism is a nationalist movement that seeks ethnic and national rights but is willing to remain a part of the host society and state. The third situation is an absence of ethnic and nationalist consciousness. Examining three different episodes that exemplifies the three different degrees of nationalism listed above, this study attempts to answer why did Northern Azerbaijanis establish two independent states, interrupted by a period as a Soviet Republic, while Iranian Azerbaijanis—one of the largest minorities in the Middle East with a population two times the size of Northern Azerbaijan—remained a part of Iran, even at times of permissive political conditions for secession and independence? To decipher the puzzle, this study offers a threefold framework—secular nationalist elite, relationship between the minority group and host state, and opportunity structures—to explain the divergence between the two Azerbaijani communities. To be more specific, this study argues that the primary reason for the rise of “assertive nationalism” in the North is the influence of the “secular nationalist” elite, who were exposed to Enlightenment ideas. This elite led the way to a “secular nationalist revolution” and the construction of a new nation from the ummah. In the South, however, religious institutions and identifications with Shia Islam, and political and economic integration with Iranian state and society led to an “integrationist nationalism” among Azerbaijanis in Iran.
Laura Jenkins, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Eliz Sanasarian, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Rina Williams, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Joel Wolfe, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
267 p.
Political Science
Nationalism; Secularism; Islam; Azerbaijani Turks; Iran; Azerbaijan

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Citations

  • Ahmadoghlu, R. (2016). Nationalism, Secularism, and Islam: Azerbaijani Turks in Azerbaijan and Iran [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1468337156

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ahmadoghlu, Ramin. Nationalism, Secularism, and Islam: Azerbaijani Turks in Azerbaijan and Iran. 2016. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1468337156.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ahmadoghlu, Ramin. "Nationalism, Secularism, and Islam: Azerbaijani Turks in Azerbaijan and Iran." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1468337156

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1468337156
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.