najmin kamilsoy
@knecmin.bsky.social
dr. public and social policy @charlesuni.cuni.cz / south caucasus / international development, civil society, authoritarian policy-making
Caucasus Barometer has always been the most reliable and freely accessible public opinion data source for the South Caucasus. Now, CRRC-Georgia needs our support to continue doing this critically important work. I encourage everyone to donate: gogetfunding.com/democracy-ne...
Democracy Needs Data: Keep the Caucasus Barometer Georgia Alive
In Georgia, independent and reliable data is under threat. At a time of political change, economic uncertainty, and rising misinformation, trusted facts are more essential than ever. For nearly two de...
gogetfunding.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Caucasus Barometer has always been the most reliable and freely accessible public opinion data source for the South Caucasus. Now, CRRC-Georgia needs our support to continue doing this critically important work. I encourage everyone to donate: gogetfunding.com/democracy-ne...
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
⭕ Georgia’s self-avowed liberals undermine themselves by justifying Israeli war crimes. - Opinion by Tazo Sozashvili.
oc-media.org/opinion-geor...
oc-media.org/opinion-geor...
Opinion | Georgia’s self-avowed liberals undermine themselves by justifying Israeli war crimes
To support Israel unconditionally is to betray Georgia’s history, and to normalise the logic of occupation, including our own.
oc-media.org
October 29, 2025 at 11:56 AM
⭕ Georgia’s self-avowed liberals undermine themselves by justifying Israeli war crimes. - Opinion by Tazo Sozashvili.
oc-media.org/opinion-geor...
oc-media.org/opinion-geor...
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
NEW!!! Senator Shaheen Staff Hand-Delivers Letters to Detained Journalists and Lawyer in Azerbaijan
October 7, 2025 at 4:37 PM
NEW!!! Senator Shaheen Staff Hand-Delivers Letters to Detained Journalists and Lawyer in Azerbaijan
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
🅾️ Opinion: Azerbaijan should align its actions to its commitment to peace — free Bahruz Samadov now.
oc-media.org/opinion-my-f...
oc-media.org/opinion-my-f...
Opinion | My friend Bahruz is in prison for advocating peace — now that’s state policy
Azerbaijan should align its actions to its commitment to peace — free Bahruz Samadov now.
oc-media.org
August 23, 2025 at 8:28 AM
🅾️ Opinion: Azerbaijan should align its actions to its commitment to peace — free Bahruz Samadov now.
oc-media.org/opinion-my-f...
oc-media.org/opinion-my-f...
at tomorrow’s US-Azerbaijan-Armenia summit in Washington DC:
- the sides will announce agreement on “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) with American “commercial” involvement
- Aliyev & Pashinyan will sign joint declaration detailing concrete pathway for final peace
⬇️
- the sides will announce agreement on “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) with American “commercial” involvement
- Aliyev & Pashinyan will sign joint declaration detailing concrete pathway for final peace
⬇️
August 7, 2025 at 12:04 PM
at tomorrow’s US-Azerbaijan-Armenia summit in Washington DC:
- the sides will announce agreement on “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) with American “commercial” involvement
- Aliyev & Pashinyan will sign joint declaration detailing concrete pathway for final peace
⬇️
- the sides will announce agreement on “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) with American “commercial” involvement
- Aliyev & Pashinyan will sign joint declaration detailing concrete pathway for final peace
⬇️
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
Even in prison, @ulviyyaali.bsky.social doesn't stop doing journalism. Here is her interview with Bahruz Samadov. medium.com/@cavidaga/ul...
Ulviyya Ali’s interview with Bahruz Samadov
Originally published by AbzasMedia in Azerbaijani. The translation to English is part of my efforts to highlight the unjust arrest of my…
medium.com
June 30, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Even in prison, @ulviyyaali.bsky.social doesn't stop doing journalism. Here is her interview with Bahruz Samadov. medium.com/@cavidaga/ul...
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
Putin: “I’ve already said that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. In that sense, all of Ukraine is ours. … We have this old rule, that wherever a Russian steps foot — that’s our territory.”
Whatever this is, it’s not a president preparing his people for compromise.
Whatever this is, it’s not a president preparing his people for compromise.
June 21, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Putin: “I’ve already said that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. In that sense, all of Ukraine is ours. … We have this old rule, that wherever a Russian steps foot — that’s our territory.”
Whatever this is, it’s not a president preparing his people for compromise.
Whatever this is, it’s not a president preparing his people for compromise.
THREAD: The ongoing severe repression in Azerbaijan has slipped behind all the regional headlines, but it should not remain unnoticed. The Abzas Case marked a tipping point in the Aliyev government's determination to extinguish all independent media.
oc-media.org/azerbaijan-h...
oc-media.org/azerbaijan-h...
Azerbaijan hands down lengthy sentences to Abzas Media team
Abzas Media was one of the last independent Azerbaijan news sites operating in the country.
oc-media.org
June 20, 2025 at 3:58 PM
THREAD: The ongoing severe repression in Azerbaijan has slipped behind all the regional headlines, but it should not remain unnoticed. The Abzas Case marked a tipping point in the Aliyev government's determination to extinguish all independent media.
oc-media.org/azerbaijan-h...
oc-media.org/azerbaijan-h...
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
⭕ BREAKING: The Baku Court of Grave Crimes has handed out sentences of between 7-9 years in prison to the management and journalists of Abzas Media, one of the last independent Azerbaijan news sites operating in the country.
oc-media.org/azerbaijan-h...
oc-media.org/azerbaijan-h...
Azerbaijan hands down lengthy sentences to Abzas Media team
Abzas Media was one of the last independent Azerbaijan news sites operating in the country.
oc-media.org
June 20, 2025 at 1:39 PM
⭕ BREAKING: The Baku Court of Grave Crimes has handed out sentences of between 7-9 years in prison to the management and journalists of Abzas Media, one of the last independent Azerbaijan news sites operating in the country.
oc-media.org/azerbaijan-h...
oc-media.org/azerbaijan-h...
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
🛫 I've got a new research article out in Mobilities, as part of a special issue on the Caucasus (check it out!!) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Title : "Pax Logistica? Mapping the interplay between war, peace and infrastructure in Azerbaijan after the 2nd Karabakh war (2020–2023)"
Title : "Pax Logistica? Mapping the interplay between war, peace and infrastructure in Azerbaijan after the 2nd Karabakh war (2020–2023)"
Pax Logistica? Mapping the interplay between war, peace and infrastructure in Azerbaijan after the 2nd Karabakh war (2020–2023)
This article examines the role that infrastructure and logistics have played as a method of authoritarian conflict management implemented by Azerbaijan after it regained control of most of the disp...
www.tandfonline.com
May 26, 2025 at 3:40 PM
🛫 I've got a new research article out in Mobilities, as part of a special issue on the Caucasus (check it out!!) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Title : "Pax Logistica? Mapping the interplay between war, peace and infrastructure in Azerbaijan after the 2nd Karabakh war (2020–2023)"
Title : "Pax Logistica? Mapping the interplay between war, peace and infrastructure in Azerbaijan after the 2nd Karabakh war (2020–2023)"
“Quiet diplomacy” is the new name for allowing an authoritarian regime to humiliate you.
Welcome home, Théo Clerc.
His release from Azerbaijan shows what quiet diplomacy and respectful engagement can achieve.
I am relieved his detention is over and I’ll continue doing my part to support our citizens abroad.
His release from Azerbaijan shows what quiet diplomacy and respectful engagement can achieve.
I am relieved his detention is over and I’ll continue doing my part to support our citizens abroad.
May 28, 2025 at 10:02 AM
“Quiet diplomacy” is the new name for allowing an authoritarian regime to humiliate you.
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
www.foreignaffairs.com/azerbaijan/p... Zaur's piece on Azerbaijan is excellent, authoritative, comprehensive and asks the hard questions about the country's future @zaurshiriyev.bsky.social
The Precarious Power of Azerbaijan
A delayed peace with Armenia endangers a new regional order.
www.foreignaffairs.com
May 27, 2025 at 9:48 AM
www.foreignaffairs.com/azerbaijan/p... Zaur's piece on Azerbaijan is excellent, authoritative, comprehensive and asks the hard questions about the country's future @zaurshiriyev.bsky.social
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
Key findings from the latest report from Georgian civil society organizations on the Georgia crackdowns in November-February:
[Report in Georgian:
cutt.ly/6rz3ADOy]
- 77.7% of respondents reported experiencing violence and mistreatment by police. 🧵 1/9
[Report in Georgian:
cutt.ly/6rz3ADOy]
- 77.7% of respondents reported experiencing violence and mistreatment by police. 🧵 1/9
May 15, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Key findings from the latest report from Georgian civil society organizations on the Georgia crackdowns in November-February:
[Report in Georgian:
cutt.ly/6rz3ADOy]
- 77.7% of respondents reported experiencing violence and mistreatment by police. 🧵 1/9
[Report in Georgian:
cutt.ly/6rz3ADOy]
- 77.7% of respondents reported experiencing violence and mistreatment by police. 🧵 1/9
Still having a hard time to digest @ulviyyaali.bsky.social's arrest. She is the latest victim of Azerbaijan's ongoing repressions - reminiscent of Stalin's. She is now suffering from injuries from torture she faced during detention.
@washingtonpost.com story:
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
@washingtonpost.com story:
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
She covered human rights for VOA in Azerbaijan. Now she’s in jail.
Ulviyya Ali reported for Voice of America for years. Trump’s moves to dismantle the U.S.-funded outlet may have put her at greater risk, activists say.
www.washingtonpost.com
May 15, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Still having a hard time to digest @ulviyyaali.bsky.social's arrest. She is the latest victim of Azerbaijan's ongoing repressions - reminiscent of Stalin's. She is now suffering from injuries from torture she faced during detention.
@washingtonpost.com story:
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
@washingtonpost.com story:
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
Important article on young people's political memories, positions and intergenerational relations in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia:
Young People, Politics and Society in the South Caucasus
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Young People, Politics and Society in the South Caucasus
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Young People, Politics and Society in the South Caucasus
This article explores socio-political landscapes in the South Caucasus through lyrical sociology with an emphasis on memory, political positions and intergenerational relations. Focusing on young p...
www.tandfonline.com
May 12, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Important article on young people's political memories, positions and intergenerational relations in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia:
Young People, Politics and Society in the South Caucasus
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Young People, Politics and Society in the South Caucasus
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
A crowd of protesters chants “freedom!” as the names of political prisoners are read at a protest marking Europe Day, and the 163rd day of protest
May 9, 2025 at 5:02 PM
A crowd of protesters chants “freedom!” as the names of political prisoners are read at a protest marking Europe Day, and the 163rd day of protest
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
Elon Musk is behind the deaths of the “world’s poorest children,” blasted rival billionaire Bill Gates today as he announced plans to wind down his foundation and spend $200 billion on philanthropic efforts by 2045.
Elon Musk to blame for world’s poorest kids dying, says Bill Gates
Billionaire philanthropist lashes the world’s richest man over DOGE cuts.
www.politico.eu
May 8, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Elon Musk is behind the deaths of the “world’s poorest children,” blasted rival billionaire Bill Gates today as he announced plans to wind down his foundation and spend $200 billion on philanthropic efforts by 2045.
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
Woke up to the news that activist and co-author Ahmad Mammadli has been arrested under false accusations by the regime in #Azerbaijan🇦🇿...
Ironically, we had written this piece together for @ispionline.bsky.social on the regime's repression of democratic movements
www.ispionline.it/en/publicati...
Ironically, we had written this piece together for @ispionline.bsky.social on the regime's repression of democratic movements
www.ispionline.it/en/publicati...
The Emergence of Democratic Movements and Their Systematic Repression in Azerbaijan | ISPI
The regime of Ilham Aliyev is systematically repressing the newly formed civil society and its democratic movements
www.ispionline.it
May 7, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Woke up to the news that activist and co-author Ahmad Mammadli has been arrested under false accusations by the regime in #Azerbaijan🇦🇿...
Ironically, we had written this piece together for @ispionline.bsky.social on the regime's repression of democratic movements
www.ispionline.it/en/publicati...
Ironically, we had written this piece together for @ispionline.bsky.social on the regime's repression of democratic movements
www.ispionline.it/en/publicati...
Today, researcher & @charlesuni.cuni.cz PhD candidate Bahruz Samadov is spending 30th birthday behind bars in Azerbaijan, where critical scholarly work is criminalized, labeled as treason. There shld be more academic voices demanding Bahruz's freedom. #FreeBahruz
www.psapopulism.org/blog/news/fr...
www.psapopulism.org/blog/news/fr...
Free Bahruz Samadov
International Academic Community Calls for the Release of Young Azerbaijani Scholar Bahruz Samadov
www.psapopulism.org
April 29, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Today, researcher & @charlesuni.cuni.cz PhD candidate Bahruz Samadov is spending 30th birthday behind bars in Azerbaijan, where critical scholarly work is criminalized, labeled as treason. There shld be more academic voices demanding Bahruz's freedom. #FreeBahruz
www.psapopulism.org/blog/news/fr...
www.psapopulism.org/blog/news/fr...
- the average level of liberal democracy is back to 1985-level by population-weighted averages
- 45 countries are in ongoing episodes of autocratization and
19 countries democratization
- USA could become the fastest autocratizing
country in contemporary history that does not involve a coup d’état
- 45 countries are in ongoing episodes of autocratization and
19 countries democratization
- USA could become the fastest autocratizing
country in contemporary history that does not involve a coup d’état
Out now! New article "State of the world 2024: 25 years of autocratization – democracy trumped?" in Democratization.
doi.org/10.1080/1351...
by @marinanord.bsky.social, @fabioangiolillo.bsky.social, Ana Good God, and @silindberg.bsky.social
#Polisky #PoliSciSky #PoliticalScience #USA
doi.org/10.1080/1351...
by @marinanord.bsky.social, @fabioangiolillo.bsky.social, Ana Good God, and @silindberg.bsky.social
#Polisky #PoliSciSky #PoliticalScience #USA
April 27, 2025 at 3:40 PM
- the average level of liberal democracy is back to 1985-level by population-weighted averages
- 45 countries are in ongoing episodes of autocratization and
19 countries democratization
- USA could become the fastest autocratizing
country in contemporary history that does not involve a coup d’état
- 45 countries are in ongoing episodes of autocratization and
19 countries democratization
- USA could become the fastest autocratizing
country in contemporary history that does not involve a coup d’état
Hi @kajakallas.bsky.social, did you wonder why there was no journalist in the room asking slightly challenging questions? Small hint: they are all in prison.
Azerbaijan is an important partner in the region.
Together, the EU and Azerbaijan have made significant progress in strengthening their ties.
We discussed ways to further increase trade and improve connectivity.
Press conference with Jeyhun Bayramov ↓
Together, the EU and Azerbaijan have made significant progress in strengthening their ties.
We discussed ways to further increase trade and improve connectivity.
Press conference with Jeyhun Bayramov ↓
April 25, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Hi @kajakallas.bsky.social, did you wonder why there was no journalist in the room asking slightly challenging questions? Small hint: they are all in prison.
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
The trial of @hbs-south-caucasus.bsky.social partner @smdov.bsky.social has begun in Baku. He never had access to any classified information, yet faces 20 years in prison on fabricated treason charges. "How can I pass on a state secret that I don't have?" www-meydan-tv.translate.goog/az/article/b...
Bəhruz Səmədov: “Məndə olmayan dövlət sirrini necə kiməsə ötürə bilərəm?” - MEYDAN.TV
O bildirib ki, Ermənistan xüsusi xidmət orqanlarıyla əməkdaşlıqda suçlansa da, ... Davamı
www-meydan-tv.translate.goog
April 23, 2025 at 7:49 AM
The trial of @hbs-south-caucasus.bsky.social partner @smdov.bsky.social has begun in Baku. He never had access to any classified information, yet faces 20 years in prison on fabricated treason charges. "How can I pass on a state secret that I don't have?" www-meydan-tv.translate.goog/az/article/b...
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
Tofiq Yagublu started the hunger strike in response to what he called a politically motivated and unjust court ruling that sentenced him to nine years in prison on fraud and document forgery charges. Bne IntelliNews
Azerbaijani politician enters third week of hunger strike, over 10kg lost as health deteriorates
Tofiq Yagublu started the hunger strike in response to what he called a politically motivated and unjust court ruling that sentenced him to nine years in prison on fraud and document forgery charges.
dlvr.it
April 18, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Tofiq Yagublu started the hunger strike in response to what he called a politically motivated and unjust court ruling that sentenced him to nine years in prison on fraud and document forgery charges. Bne IntelliNews
Reposted by najmin kamilsoy
You can read this recent and excellent piece on anti-war activists in Azerbaijan. This is an open source article. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Obliged to hate: The successful stigmatisation of anti-war voices in Azerbaijan | Review of International Studies | Cambridge Core
Obliged to hate: The successful stigmatisation of anti-war voices in Azerbaijan
www.cambridge.org
April 10, 2025 at 9:51 AM
You can read this recent and excellent piece on anti-war activists in Azerbaijan. This is an open source article. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...