OPINION

As protests continue across Iran, Azerbaijan faces a delicate challenge: balancing regional stability, humanitarian responsibility, and concern for millions of ethnic Azerbaijanis - without escalating tensions or retreating into silence.

Economic strain, social unrest, and fading cohesion are reshaping Iran’s future faster than sanctions or military threats. As internal contradictions deepen, regional consequences are becoming harder to ignore.

Washington’s reset with Baku reflects a shift away from ideology toward strategic interests in the South Caucasus.

The cancellation of President Aliyev’s visit to St. Petersburg signaled a shift in Azerbaijan-Russia relations, pointing toward a more pragmatic, conditional model of engagement likely to define the bilateral relationship through 2026.

Recent increases in fuel and utility prices have renewed public debate over whether wage growth keeps pace with everyday expenses.

Armenian society is tired of war. Hatred has stopped functioning as a political currency.

Multiple international and local studies suggest that between 30 and 40 percent of women in Azerbaijan experience physical, psychological, economic, or sexual violence at some point in their lives.

The real cost of ownership may only become clear after the excitement wears off.

As Russia and Iran push back against the TRIPP initiative, Azerbaijan is reshaping the South Caucasus through connectivity and post-conflict normalization-challenging long-standing geopolitical gatekeepers.

Early marriage in Azerbaijan is no longer a private family matter but a systemic social failure driven by poverty, weak institutions, and legal impunity. Cutting short the lives of thousands of girls, the practice fuels long-term risks ranging from human trafficking to demographic decline and the erosion of the country’s human capital.

A criminal case involving a former senior energy official has triggered broader questions about institutional oversight, governance standards, and the long-term credibility of Azerbaijan’s energy sector.

Until then, European engagement will continue to generate visibility without influence - present in discourse, but peripheral in decision-making.

Despite heavy investment and official claims of reform, Azerbaijan’s higher education system continues to struggle with deep structural problems that prevent real academic progress and global integration.