AZERBAIJAN’S LOBBY ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED STATES (2000-2020)

Abstract

The article examines the dynamics of the formation, development and a certain decline of the Azerbaijani lobby in the United States. By bringing together historical and contemporary facts, the article describes the aggressive anti-Armenian activities of the Azerbaijani lobbying groups and the countermeasures of the Armenian lobby. As expected, at the core of the anti-Armenian work of Absheron Peninsula’s lobbyists is the political-lobbying and propaganda efforts against Artsakh. The author tried to showcase that the Azerbaijani lobby of the United States in reality represents an entity controlled by the government of Azerbaijan and subject to Aliyev. As a contrast to that, the Armenian American political lobby-groups represent independent organizations of US citizens of Armenian origin. In this capacity, the Azerbaijani lobby, in fact, takes actions that technically are against US legislation, as they act as an external force that seeks to influence the political processes of the U.S. During the work, the author used Armenian, Russian, American, Azerbaijani-Turkish publications and narratives. In addition, as a result of field research, interviews were conducted with organizations of the Armenian community and Armenian activists.