The rhetorical face of enmity: the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the dehumanization of Armenians in the speeches of Ilham Aliyev

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the process of othering through the creation of the ‘enemy image’ in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Ilham Aliyev’s speeches delivered between 2016 and 2020. Based on narrative and discourse analysis of the speeches, this article demonstrates the main discursive practices used by Aliyev to dehumanize Armenians. These analyses uncover three main components: identification of Armenians as the sole menace for Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis, depiction of Armenians as non-human and barbaric in essence, and stressing the superiority of Azerbaijan to eliminate the threat emanating from Armenians. Limiting itself to a state-backed dominant narrative, this article also highlights the connection of the dehumanization process of Armenians with the power legitimation dynamics in Azerbaijan.