ABSTRACT
This chapter explains on Azerbaijan's commitment to a pro-Western foreign policy which is based not on whims but on rational calculations deriving from the long-standing perceptions of threats and interests. Azerbaijan's political reform agenda had ground to a halt, further slowing the pace of integration with the West. When Azerbaijan became independent, relations with the West have developed and broadened greatly in all fields. These relations can be grouped into three baskets of issues: governance and democratization, energy and trade, and security cooperation. Over time, these three areas have been accorded varying degrees of importance. Azerbaijan is in the process of building its distinct national identity, and does not have the Kemalist heritage. As such, Azerbaijan's identity could survive without the West much better than Turkey's could. But that prospect should be of no comfort to Azerbaijan or to the West.
