CONTEMPORARY EURASIA IX ( 2 )
the hopes of Ilham Aliyev that his previous policies towards Armenia had served their purpose , and this may be considered the third stage of Baku ’ s conflict management strategy , where its long-pursued “ strategic patience ” yielded results .
Overall , Ilham Aliyev ’ s position towards the peace process was in the framework of conflict management strategies . In his interview , Mammadyarov singled out all the steps that Aliyev has utilized during his tenure . Aliyev ’ s “ strategic patience ” of strengthening Azerbaijan and depleting Armenia ’ s material and demographic resources through isolation demonstrates that he tried to prevent the conflict from arising . It can even be described by Woodward ’ s formula , “ negotiate , prevaricate , escalate , renegotiate .”
Conclusion
The theoretical part of this paper is aimed at understanding the difference between the terms conflict management and conflict resolution and their mechanisms regarding the peace processes of various conflicts . As the question posed at the beginning of this paper was to understand “ strategic patience ” and what kind of strategies it implies . This study put it into a broader framework considering conflict management to be an umbrella term . Thus , the first part of the analysis reveals that “ strategic patience ” may be observed as a combination of conflict management strategies . The next part of the analysis aims to apply this concept to the Azerbaijani policies regarding the peace process . The scholars were mainly interested in resolving the conflict , trying to suggest various solutions to the issue . However , so far , the scholarship trend on the NK peace process has been limited or quite marginal in discussing Azerbaijani conflict management strategies and policies . Studying the conflicting parties ' approaches may reveal the reasons that made this conflict intractable .
Thereby , it was shown that since its independence , Azerbaijan ’ s stance towards the peace process has changed depending on the leaders ' approaches and perceptions . For instance , in the first two years of independence , Azerbaijani leaders were most interested in conflict resolution through military means , since the peace process at that time was not an established one . Since Heydar Aliyev , this approach has changed . He changed his policies over the years , first aiming to manage the conflict and then resolving it . Strategic patience began with Ilham Aliyev when he completely changed Azerbaijan ’ s position towards Armenia and the peace process . His warlike rhetoric , constant
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