MA in Progress at @DCRES_Harvard | Researching and Writing on Eastern Europe & South Caucasus, Politics, Security, Identity, Ideology
New York/Boston
Joined July 2023
- Tweets3.2K
- Following1.9K
- Followers434
- Likes1K
Pinned Tweet
My latest for @NewEastEurope! I look at recent controversies between #Azerbaijan and #Turkey, arguing that the hijab scandal reflects divergences in identity and politics between the close allies, but that such tensions thus far appear manageable
neweasterneurope.eu/2026/10/…
Interestingly, when i try to convince people on the center or right not to back Israel I describe Israel as using Russian-style tactics
Azerbaijani state media published this summer that 102 people had been moved into Stepanakert/Khankendi
en.apa.az/social/another-res…
Azerbaijan’s “Great Return” programme was meant to bring 140,000 former displaced people back to Karabakh and East Zangezur by the end of 2026. So far, just over 40,000 have returned. As the first phase draws to a close, questions are mounting over the pace of resettlement, the lack of jobs and basic services, and how billions spent on reconstruction are being used.
jam-news.net/return-of-azerb…
I mean Rosatom SMRs. Fiber optic military drones. I could prob think of a few more. It doesn’t suit anyone’s interests to promote the stereotype that Russia is simply some backwards society incapable of innovation
Enjoying the process of turning my desk area into a whole mosaic of gizmos and cultural objects from post-Soviet space
Nicholas Castillo retweeted
should the Black Sea Connector Cable across the Black Sea be built? Some countries, including Georgia & Azerbaijan want it, as key vision to export (green) energy.
An expert in the field says it can make sense if -- big IF -- six tests are met.
1/ it needs actual supply in AZE and Georgia; we are not anywhere near there.
2/ "A bankable revenue model", including "border cost allocation among the benefiting countries", next to just expecting an EU grant
3/ Reliable cost, with locked offers, and "an economic case that survives a cost overrun of 25–30% and a two-year delay."
4/ A robust price case against various price scenarios.
5/ Domestic readiness: real grid reinforcements; "functioning market rules for exports", and a "winter-adequacy plan."
6/ Security & governance: An insurance and guarantee package, a repair strategy, and other governance provision.
A lot of work ahead. Probably fair to say that few of those metrics are quite on track to be met soon, with the main problem that energy generation in Georgia is stalling. (Some ppl getting very rich off imports, is usual explanation.)
This interview is an informed take & contribution to the debate.
Using a United States SMR training simulator when now US company has a working SMR for sale seems like signalling imo 🧐
Pleased to see Central Asia’s first and only SMR training simulator open in 🇰🇿Almaty, featuring 🇺🇸American Holtec SMR-300 technology and supported by the U.S. State Department’s @StateDept FIRST program.
This important development reflects our growing strategic partnership with the United States and Kazakhstan’s expanding regional role in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Hmm idk what to do with this information
People often will talk about symbolic concessions to Moscow's status by Astana, but like this would seem counter to Kazakh interests
NEW: #Kazakstan President Tokayev calls for #Russia to be made an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States
Made comments during today's leaders' session at the summit in Ankara
Hanging with Gianni Infantino instead of ur like brotherly Turkic presidents is kinda a bad move by Aliyev
Azerbaijani elites increasingly depict Baku as they actor key shaping the regional environment, instead of simply one of three equal partners.
It's a more honest form of rhetoric than simply celebrating the "cooperation" unfolding in the region
Azerbaijan has transformed South Caucasus from “The Battle Space” of big powers to “A Marketplace” or “Cooperation Space”of every party.
“In Baku, Professor Jeffrey Sachs sit down with Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan. From a country that spent 34 of its 35 years of independence at war, to one now quietly building a green corridor from the Caspian Sea to Europe, Azerbaijan is rewriting its own story.
Hajiyev reflects on the peace with Armenia, the 800 gigawatts of wind potential sleeping beneath the Caspian, COP29, and a surname that carries within it both an Arabic pilgrimage and a Russian suffix, a dialogue of civilisation in a single word. Professor Sachs delivers the Pope’s encyclical on peace and AI. And somewhere between the caviar and the wind farms, a new picture of the world begins to take shape.”
youtube.com/watch?v=lX6x_NXu…
#TheMarcoPoloDrive #TogetherIsFurther #WhatsCoolAbout #SilkRoad #Azerbaijan
In July 2025, it seemed 🇦🇿🇷🇺 relations were in serious trouble. Soon, they had stabilized and it was clear confrontation had remained in realm of symbolic
The 🇦🇿🇹🇷 partnership is far more mutually beneficial, close, and supported by top elites
Aliyev skipping OTS summit in Turkey is something I wouldn't have predicted.
Still, Baku is sending FM Bayramov and I would still expect the current conflict to be mended/managed by top elites, even if Baku is choosing to keep the controversy alive just a little longer
SON DURUM | Aliyev, Türkiye’deki Türk Devletleri Zirvesi’ne gelmiyor.
serbestiyet.com/featured/bas…
Aliyev, 30 Ekim’de Bakü’deki U-15 futbol turnuvasının ödül törenine katılacak.
Zirvede Azerbaycan’ı Dışişleri Bakanı temsil edecek.
🔺Aliyev’in ikna edilmesi için Cumhurbaşkanı danışmanı Oktay Saral görevden alınmış, Aliyev’i eleştiren aktivistler hakkında adli işlemler yapılmıştı.
Netanyahu naming Ra'am, an Arab party that has partnered with opposition coalition in the past, as supposedly having committed large scale voter fraud
הליכוד:
הבחירות במדינת ישראל נגנבו על ידי מפלגות ערביות שתומכות בטרור ובחיסול המדינה היהודית באמצעות עבירות פליליות חמורות של שוחד, איומים, אלימות, זיופים ושימוש בתוכנות אסורות להמרצת מצביעים.
מפלגת הליכוד מעבירה למשטרה, לשב״כ ולוועדת הבחירות מאות עדויות וראיות על גניבת בחירות בקלפיות ערביות רבות- אלפי מעטפות עם כסף מזומן ופתקי רע״ם, איומים ואלימות כלפי חברי הקלפי, ריבוי מצביעים מאחורי הפרגוד, הצבעות בזהות כפולה, פערים בין מספר המעטפות למספר המצביעים, שימוש בתוכנות המרצה אסורות ועוד.
אנו דורשים מהמשטרה ומהשב״כ חקירה יסודית בגין גניבת הבחירות על ידי המפלגות הערביות ומיצוי הדין עם העבריינים.
אנו דורשים מוועדת הבחירות התייחסות מיידית לחקירת העבירות הפליליות הללו שפגעו באופן קיצוני בטוהר הבחירות בישראל ובתוצאות הבחירות.
זו פגיעה חמורה בדמוקרטיה הישראלית ובזכות הבחירה של אזרחי ישראל. גופי האכיפה מוכרחים לפעול ביד קשה ובאופן מיידי.
Nicholas Castillo retweeted
77.45% of Israeli citizens voted for right-wing & far-right parties
6.51% voted for the zionist left
15% voted for Arab parties
If you leave out Arab citizens of Israel, it means over 92% of zionist Israelis voted for the right!
While of all three Caucasus states Armenia has the least investments and ties to Gulf, Pashinyan and co have been working fast to change this.
Over the summer, Gulf firms held meetings on urban redevelopment, opened businesses, and launched a patrol station
Pashinyan hosts delegation led by Saudi prince Abdulaziz bin Talal Al Saud
armenpress.am/en/article/126…
Nicholas Castillo retweeted
Pashinyan hosts delegation led by Saudi prince Abdulaziz bin Talal Al Saud
armenpress.am/en/article/126…