Azerbaijan’s Center of Analysis of International Relations

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Azerbaijan’s Center of Analysis of International Relations

Diplomat Magazine held an e-mail interview with the Chairman of Azerbaijan’s Center of Analysis of International Relations Dr. Farid Shafiyev.  

Diplomat Magazine: The Center of Analysis of International Relations is quite novel, for it was founded in 2019. What is in your opinion its contribution to Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, which are its main topics of research? 

Dr. Shafiyev: Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) was established on 6 February 2019, and is a new public institution. On the one hand, the Center aims to delve into analysis, and research on wide-spectrum of issues on international relations, foreign affairs, global governance and politics, alongside closely following the related developments in the neighbouring regions and within our own region.

On the other hand, the AIR Center also extends its analytical and research expertise on the above issues to Azerbaijani government, academic and other interested local stakeholders by offering a unique synthesis of analytics of the events on international and regional dimensions and their potential implications for Azerbaijan. It is also a two-way street, in a sense that the implications of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy actions and decisions on wider neighbourhood and international community is also extensively studied.

The Center studies, researches and also offers policy guidance and recommendations to the Azerbaijani government on diverse foreign policy topics including among others, but not limited to, Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, its history and conflict resolution process, Azerbaijan’s global standing and cooperation with international and regional organisation, security and economics related topics, energy, transportation and communications networks, etc. 

Diplomat Magazine: The center focuses on security matters paramount to Azerbaijan. How would you define the relations before the European Union, and their meaning for Azerbaijan’s stability? 

Dr. Shafiyev: Our relations with the European Union have gone through a long process of evolution and we have cooperated within different programs, such as Partnership and Cooperation Agreements (PCAs), European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and the Eastern Partnership (EaP).

We are currently negotiating the bilateral Strategic Partnership Agreement which is pending the agreement on some remaining issues. We value our partnership with the European Union, which is one of our largest trade partners, based on mutually beneficial cooperation and support of interests.

 Diplomat Magazine: What is the relevance of Azerbaijani’s diplomatic network, particularly vis-à-vis the European Union, or the Russian Federation, to boost Azerbaijani security?  

Dr. Shafiyev: Azerbaijan is on the crossroads of Europe and Asia and its favourable geo-strategic location has earned it an important transportation and transit posture in the era of globalisation. Azerbaijan has also established itself as an international player capable of accommodating the interests of and building reliable partnerships with diverse geographic distances, identities and religions.

Azerbaijan adheres to a multi-vectored foreign policy that prioritises good-neighbourly relations with its regional neighbours, including Russia and balancing out this dynamic with its interactions with Euro-Atlantic partners, including the European Union. Azerbaijan is bent on further pursuing its pragmatist foreign policy as this has become one of the central pillars of its security and welfare. It is no coincidence therefore that Azerbaijan’s name is associated with the existing security and stability in the region and the country has hosted number of high-level meetings between Russia and its western counterparts several times in a row.  

Diplomat Magazine: The Nagorno-Karabakh issue continues to fissure relations to Armenia; do you foresee any possible solution(s) acceptable for both sides? 

Dr. Shafiyev: Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has been dragging on for over three decades now with very grim consequences resulting for Azerbaijan, who has lost 20 percent of its internationally recognised territories to the occupier and had to deal with the challenges posed by the thousands of refugee and IDP population. However, Armenian population has not seen any benefit of occupational policy as it depleted its economic and human resources – almost one out of three millions people emigrated from Armenia for the last twenty years. It played in hands of war lords and nationalist-minded politicians who hijacked the political scene in Yerevan.

Negotiation process has also been ongoing for many years now with no tangible results achieved. No meaningful and lasting solution to the conflict is possible until Armenia withdraws from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and displaced Azerbaijani population finally return to their homelands.

Future of the region lies in the two communities – Armenian and Azerbaijani living side-by-side in Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. This will be a truly European experience –based solution.  

For further information
https://aircenter.az

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Picture by Dr. Farid Shafiyev – Own work

Two brothers selected as World Peace Ambassadors

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Two brothers selected as World Peace Ambassadors

Two Iranian young brothers selected as a World Peace Ambassadors form International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace (IFLAC)

By Jerry Giovanardi.

Shahin Gavanji and Jahangir Gavanji are two Iranian human rights activists, researchers and women rights defenders (1) who launched several campaigns to promote peace and gender equality in the world.

Because of their peaceful activities in the world, on March 6th, 2020, they were selected as a world peace ambassadors form The International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace. (IFLAC), and received official certificate from Prof. Ada Aharoni, president of IFLAC and Prof. Ernesto Kahan, vice president of IFLAC.

IFLAC, “The Friends of Literature Association”, was founded in 1985, and was registered as a Voluntary Association in 1987. Since its establishment in 1999, its goal is to build “bridges of understanding and peace through culture, literature and communication.” IFLAC Directors and Peace Ambassadors are appointed in some 20 countries.

Shahin and Jahangir Gavanji are two award-winning Iranian brothers, chosen as the best inventors of Iran in 2009 and received the best young inventor award from Iran president hands. They also won this prize in 2010 for the second time and several medals and awards in Germany, Warsaw and Croatia in world inventions festivals.

They are founders of The Global Campaign for the Prevention of Child Marriage (GCPCM) (2,3) which this campaign was done in many countries; the campaign received 1869 painting from 41 countries in the world. They are managers of a child abuse prevention program in Iran and launched the first national campaign to prevent child abuse in Iran and gather more than 3000 signature (4). In the other efforts to support women’s, children’s and to avoid child abuse, they launched a 5-minutes class-in-street campaign and educate more than 8000 child labour in all over the country with the essential points to prevent ways of child abuse (5).

Shahin is the Chairman of the WAMS Council of Asia in the World Academy of Medical Sciences (6), where both established a national campaign to prevent child abuse in all cities of Iran and educated more than 15000 parents with the ways to prevent child abuse and protect their children (7). Also, these brothers are the managers of “My Body is My Body” program in Iran and they have launched a campaign for that in Iran to prevent child abuse (8) and Translated the total program of ‘My Body is My Body’ in Persian (9).

Covid-19 and future challenges for diplomacy

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Covid-19 and future challenges for diplomacy

By H.E. Baron Albrecht von Boeselager, Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta.

For over 900 years, the Sovereign Order of Malta has turned its gaze to those most in need and brought them help, following the Christian principles that constitute its main trait. Its mission has been expressed over the centuries during wars, famine, natural disasters, migrations, but also during periods of peace, with daily assistance to the weakest, in the developing world as well as in the wealthiest societies. Present in over 120 countries, the Order of Malta is a centuries-old oak tree. Thanks to its deep roots in the fertile humus of voluntary work, the Order is able to use the strength of its diplomacy trunk and cover with its rich foliage the most marginalized sections of society.

The importance of the diplomatic network that has been laboriously woven over the years with 110 countries is put into evidence by the dramatic situation brought about today by Covid-19. The Sovereign Order of Malta’s ambassadors – deployed in many countries around the world, and its representatives at the UN, the EU and other international organisations – are permanently engaged in what is known as “Humanitarian Diplomacy”. They are committed to raising awareness about problems, risks and threats in the humanitarian field among the public and decision-makers.

This pandemic, which suddenly reminded us of the power of nature, is forcing us to consider the challenges we will face in the near future, all of them inextricably linked: poverty, health challenges, diseases, migrations. We affirm, with ever greater conviction, that the only weapon in our hands is solidarity, on a social, political and economic level.

The government of the Sovereign Order of Malta, as well as our entities and embassies, have all mobilized to deal with the emergency, first of all by training medical and non medical staff to guarantee assistance in safe conditions. Our programs have been reinforced to respond to the enormous pressure on the national health systems; support has been provided to hospitals, health centres, ambulance services and, at the same time, assistance has been increased to the care system for the elderly and disabled, many of whom suffer isolation, and to other groups such as migrants and the homeless.

The Order’s scope of action in Europe was already fully operational throughout the continent. Now our greatest concern is mainly towards Africa, the Middle East, South-East Asia and South America, fragile areas where the contagion of Covid-19 could have unimaginable consequences.

The Order of Malta is already present in many of these realities and now it is promoting a new strategy of prevention and risk reduction through the development of interactions on several levels, becoming an advocate of various projects: among them, the Doctors to Doctors program, which aims to share the best practices to stop the spread of Covid-19. The initiative creates an online platform for the exchange of knowledge between Order of Malta experts in Europe and those facing Covid-19 in Middle East countries.

I conclude by expressing a wish for a movement of global solidarity, the only road to overcoming this dramatic emergency.

Judges of the KSC conclude their fifth plenary

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Judges of the KSC conclude their fifth plenary

In the picture, Dr Ekaterina Trendafilova, President of the Specialist Chambers.

On 29 and 30 April 2020, the Judges of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) held their fifth Plenary. The Plenary, which is generally held in-person in The Hague, was conducted via video-conference this year in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding the challenges posed, the Judges of the KSC successfully completed their annual Plenary in this manner and demonstrated that the President and the Judges continue to fulfil their mandates without delay.

During the Plenary, the Judges unanimously elected Judge Charles Smith III as the new Vice-President in accordance with Article 32(4) of the Law on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (Law). In accordance with Article 32(4) of the Law, the Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President in the latter’s absence or inability to act.

President Ekaterina Trendafilova congratulated Judge Smith, stating that his election as Vice President is a testament to the confidence the Judges of the KSC have in him.

The Judges were further provided with updates from the President, the Specialist Prosecutor and the Registrar. Following the departure of the Judges of the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court (SCCC) from the Plenary, the Judges proceeded to deliberate on and adopt amendments to 30 Rules of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (Rules).

The amendments clarify several provisions and are aimed at ensuring more efficient and effective proceedings. The adopted Rule amendments will be referred to the SCCC in accordance with Article 19(5) of the Law, to ensure their compliance with Chapter II of the Constitution.

Claussen as European face for Schleswig-Holstein

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Claussen as European face for Schleswig-Holstein

Premier Daniel Günther and Minister Claus Christian Claussen – Picture by Staatskanzlei Schleswig-Holstein.

Thursday, 30 April 2020, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein: Jurist Claus Christian Claussen (59) has been appointed novel Minister of Justice, European Affairs and Consumer Protection in the Cabinet of Daniel Günther, Premier of Schleswig-Holstein. 

Hitherto Claus Christian Claussen has been a solicitor and notarius publicus in Flensburg as well as as a deputy in the State Assembly (Landtag) since 2017.

As a parliamentarian he sat in the committees for home and legal affairs; serving in fact as spokesperson for these topics for the Christian Democrat block. 

For further information:
https://schleswig-holstein.de/DE/Landesregierung/I/Presse/PI/2020/MP/200428_mp_wechsel_kabinett.html

Henk Pröpper knighted

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Henk Pröpper knighted

Monday, 27 April 2020, King’s Day, Kingdom of the Netherlands:  Henk Pröpper, former Chair of the Board of the Prince Claus Fund (2013-18) was appointed ‘Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau’ for his contributions to literature, art and culture. This state honour is awarded for meritorious service to society.

Pröpper is well-known in the cultural field of the Netherlands after serving as director of the Institut Néerlandais in Paris, of the Dutch Literary Fund (Nederlands Letterenfonds) as well as director of the publishing house De Bezige Bij (the Busy Bee) in Amsterdam and Antwerp. 

For further information:

Prince Claus Fund: https://princeclausfund.org

Henk Pröpper: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henk_Pröpper_(uitgever)

About the Order of Oranje-Nassau: https://lintjes.nl/achtergrond/de-orde-van-oranje-nassau

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Image: Henk Pröpper’s valediction with Honorary Chair HRH Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, 2018 Prince Claus Awards © Frank van Beek.

Backes for the Grand Ducal Court

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Backes for the Grand Ducal Court

Wednesday, 29 April 2020, Luxembourg City, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: The chief of the European Commission Representation to the world’s only Grand Duchy, Ms. Yuriko Backes (49), is set to become the first female to hold the office of ‘Marshall of the Grand Ducal Court’ from 1 June 2020 succeeding Lucien Weiler who is retiring. 

Backes is a trained diplomat with previous experience in the capacity as diplomatic adviser for Jean-Claude Juncker, and for incumbent Prime Minister Xavier Bettel until 2016 when she became the head of the delegation of the European Commission in Luxembourg. 

Yuriko Backes has moreover served as Deputy Director at the Directorate for International Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, as Deputy Head of Mission at the Luxembourgian Embassy in Japan, and as a diplomat at Luxembourg’s permanent representations to the EU (Brussels) and the UN (New York). 

Privately Yuriko Backes enjoys classical music, particularly Bach, swimming, and reading. 

For further information: 
https://twitter.com/Yuriko_Backes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1255437024259162117&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wort.lu%2Fpt%2Fluxemburgo%2Fyuriko-backes-e-a-nova-marechala-da-corte-gr-o-ducal-5ea99007da2cc1784e35cb3f

New Court Marshall for Luxembourg

80th Grand Master of the Order of Malta passes away

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80th Grand Master of the Order of Malta passes away

Fra’ Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto – Picture by Order of Malta.

Wednesday, 29 April 2020, Rome, Italian Republic: The Grand Magistry of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta announced the demise of the 80th Grand Master and Sovereign Prince, Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto. 

He perished following an incurable disease diagnosed back in January 2020.
According to article 17 of the Constitution of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Grand Commander Fra’ Ruy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de Villas Boas has assumed the functions of ‘Lieutenant ad interim’, and shall remain head of the Sovereign Order until the election of the new Grand Master.

Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto was born in Rome on 9 December 1944. He graduated in Literature and Philosophy from the Sapienza University of Rome, specialising in Christian archaeology and art history. He held academic positions in the Pontifical Urbaniana University, teaching classical Greek, and also served as chief librarian and archivist for the university’s important collections. He has published a range of academic articles and essays on aspects of mediaeval art history.

Armin Laschet received the Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Fra’ Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto. Photography Land NRW, Günther Ortmann’

For further information: 
https://www.orderofmalta.int/2020/04/29/remembrance-sovereign-order-of-maltas-grand-master-fra-giacomo-dalla-torre-del-tempio-di-sanguinetto/

Grand Magistry Announces Death of H.M.E.H. Grand Master Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto

Leo van der Velde Awarded Royal Decoration

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Leo van der Velde Awarded Royal Decoration

By Roy Lie A Tjam.

Iconic reporter at Ad Haagche Courant and Chronicler of The Hague Life, Leo van de Velde, received a Royal Decoration and was inducted into the Order of Orange Nassau for his longstanding commitment to journalism in The Hague, the international city of Peace and Justice.

Mayor Michel Bezuijen of Rijswijk, acting on behalf of His Majesty King Willem Alexander, via a video link, presented van der Velde with the auspicious honors, heralding his lifelong dedication to his profession. The Order of Orange Nassau is a civil and military order of chivalry founded in 1892 in the Netherlands.

Leo van der Velde is well known and fondly regarded by many in The Hague. For several years he published the section ‘Bij Ons in Den Haag’, an overview of all social and Diplomatic gatherings in the city. He was always there, but was never part of the Hague society in an official capacity.

Van der Velde knows Den Haag very well as he was born in the heart of the city and always has his pulse on the streets. He has an undeniable ease dealing with everything and everyone, roaming between all the social layers that are so characteristic of The Hague, that he comfortably interacts with all sections of society.
 

Leo sees and knows everything and is an old-fashioned journalist in the classic and beautiful sense of the word. This skill in perception is not something that can be learned in a school, but is gained through life experience, by looking and by listening. Even now in his seventies, Leo seems to be in the prime of his writing life.

The past two years he started a new column at AD Haagsche Courant Lieve Rachel. In a letter to his granddaughter, he combines the old with the new times, the traditional with the contemporary. Readers are able to truly have an organic experience, to feel and smell The Hague through his words and see the current city through the eyes of Rachel.

The columns were bundled last year and it immediately became The Hague book of the year according to the editor-in-chief in AD Haagsche Courant.

Leo van der velde krijgt een lintje. (Den Haag 23-04-20) Foto: Frank Jansen.

Editor-in-chief, Paul van de Bosch and colleague Maaike Kraaijeveld were elated and applauded the fact that Leo has received a Royal Decoration for the excellent job he has done over the decades.

Diplomat magazine congratulates Leo van der Velde with the honor that has been bestowed on him.

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Photography Frank Jansen.

Public Diplomacy & Covid-19

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Public Diplomacy & Covid-19

By Dr. Eugenio Matos G.

As the fight against this pandemic continues, both Donald Trump and Xi Jinping begin to deploy one of the least known diplomatic tools, the public diplomacy (PD) strategy. This new science has transformed Washington’s foreign policy since 1999, Shanghai since 2003, and a handful of other states in recent years. For the People’s Republic of China and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gonggong waijiao (public diplomacy in Mandarin) is a matter of survival and national security.

The PD of both governments fulfills the objective of caring for the country’s image overseas. This can take the form of the issuance of favourable press releases worldwide or sending medical aid to nations in need.  

For some developing countries, the short-term Covid-19 outcome will be critical. Only those states having incorporated public diplomacy into their external action will be able to recover more quickly from the peripheral effects of today´s crisis. The ministries of foreign affairs of Israel, South Korea, Vietnam and Spain (just to mention a few), are including public diplomacy as a compulsory subject in contemporary diplomatic training.

Implementing a successful PD can be an affordable option under scarce resources  (Arias L. 2018). The terminology of public diplomacy, as we understand it today, was first coined in 1965 at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Massachusetts (Guillon E.). However, its practical implementation started to flourish after the closure of the United States Information Agency (USIA or USIS) and the inauguration of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in 1999 at the United States Department of State. 

Public diplomacy is the science responsible for establishing strategies to listen, empathize, influence and engage foreign audiences (Matos E., 2007).

It is a discipline partially opposed to the praxis of traditional diplomacy as defined by Sir Harold Nicholson. The PD is per se innovative, democratic and transparent. PD is not limited to diplomatic agents but extends to lobbyists, NGOs, members of civil society and the diaspora.

According to studies from the University of South Carolina, the Clingendael Institute and the International Public Diplomacy Council in The Hague, its effectiveness might be an antidote to face crises or as an alternative solution when diplomatic relations may be deteriorated or even broken (Noya J. 2006). Some scholars and politicians refer to PD as “People´s Diplomacy”,  (Albright M., 2000).

In the practice field, public diplomacy uses soft power as a formula to attract minds and hearts in a subtle way (Nye J. 2009). PD is equally nourished by other tools such as digital diplomacy due to the immediacy of communications, as well as cultural diplomacy for its proven merits (Milton C. C., 2003). Unlike traditional diplomatic duties, public diplomacy remains a very recent discipline, sparse in literature and falling short of cutting-edge professionals. Surprisingly, too many career diplomats still ignore the advantages of this key foreign policy tool (JK Stewart 2017).

After spending weeks in quarantine during this pandemic, which triggered the biggest plunge in global stock markets since 1933, several superpowers are starting to display their public diplomacy muscles well before igniting a recovery strategy. In sum, China and the United States of America are excellent models in implementing public diplomacy as an important soft power tool for effective communication and crisis management.   

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About the author: Dr. Eugenio Matos G. is Minister-Counsellor at the Dominican Republic Embassy in Ottawa. He is one of the first Latin American experts in public diplomacy and recipient of several Canada´s Ambassadors of the Year & Public diplomacy recognitions. 

This article was also published in Spanish by the author in Buenos Aires, Argentina. http://www.diplomaticsnews.com/la-diplomacia-publica-contra-el-covid-19/

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