CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 37

TINA KHARATYAN
Analysis of the Law on the armed forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan
On December 15, 2017, Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan adopted a new law
on Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The revision of the law
was connected with the goals and objectives of the MD adopted in 2010
(Ch2.Article 3) 64 as the 1991 Law on the Armed Forces did not refl ect in-
stalled objectives and implementation of those.
The law on armed forces changed the term of “Armed forces and other
military units of Azerbaijan” to the “armed forces of Azerbaijan”. Conse-
quently, if before only issues connected with the army were under the law
regulations, now the law regulates the functioning of other military units
(1.1) as well. Although the law does not specify which military subdivisions
(1.3) go under the control of National Army, it is clear that provision refers
to – the Internal Troops of Azerbaijan, National Security Services, State
Border Guard, External Intelligence Services, Azerbaijani National Guard.
Now all military subdivisions are subordinated to the National Army
of Azerbaijan assuming high level of militarization of the country. More-
over, if the regulation of public order was under the legislation of the in-
ternal troops, now it is a task of National Army of Azerbaijan. This means
that army will have control over civilian life. Since it has also a duty to
implement control over the information fl ow, freedom of expression and
access to information will be subordinated to the needs and security inter-
pretations of military elites.
Overall, it is clear, that modifi cation of the legal base in accordance
with the provisions of the MD leads to the consolidation of presidential
power, securitization of society and preparation of it for war-torn situ-
ations. Both laws allow to interpret the information in accordance with
the elites’ will by using a security threat as propaganda for gaining social
support and obedience.
Analysis of the speeches of Ilham Aliyev
In order to assess policy implications stemming from the MD, it is im-
portant to examine how often Aliyev refers to the Doctrine and its provi-
sions during his speeches. Such statements are indications of document’s
importance and President’s commitment to follow the spirit and vision
of the Doctrine. Random sampling strategy is used for the content anal-
ysis of speeches. Since 2010, President Aliyev made 43 speeches on de-
fense-related topics, which are available on the offi cial website of Ilham
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“Law on the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” https://www.legal-tools.org/
doc/043a36/pdf/ (accessed June 7, 2018).
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