ABSTRACT
The article analyses the influence of internal and external factors on democratization and civil society development in Azerbaijan. Through an examination of internal factors, the article demonstrates how domestic political opportunity structures (POS) have influenced civil society capacities and social capital development throughout the various stages of political and societal development in Azerbaijan. In exploring external factors of democratization, the article investigates the democracy promotion efforts of major Western organizations in the country since the early years of independence in the 1990s. The article argues that the prospects for democratization in Azerbaijan have weakened due to both domestic structural problems and external factors. Civil society development in Azerbaijan has been impeded as a result of the gradual contraction of POS due to government repression and the creation of a context favouring the monopolization of the political and economic space by a single ruling group. The contraction of POS has furthermore been possible because of a lack of criticism and political pressure by Western actors, who have prioritized their economic interests in Azerbaijan’s energy resources over long-term civil society development.
