“Nobody Must See Weakness”: The Crisis of Management Culture in Azerbaijan’s Public Sector

Just a few years ago, parents in Azerbaijan repeated nearly the same formula for success to their children: get into university, earn a degree in law, economics, or management, secure a position in a government institution or a large company — and build a stable life.

Baku has always been built as a dialogue between eras—sometimes harmonious, more often tense. Here, the medieval walls of Icherisheher stand just minutes away from the flowing forms of the Heydar Aliyev Center, designed by Zaha Hadid. This is a city that does not so much grow as accumulate—like a geological cross-section in which each layer speaks of power, money, and visions of the future.

A fatal incident at the National Oncology Center has reignited debate over structural weaknesses in Azerbaijan’s cancer care system, drawing attention to gaps in access, financing and patient support that experts say have persisted despite rising public spending.

At the start of each academic year, lecture halls at Azerbaijan State University of Economics and Baku State University fill with the same expectation: that education will serve as a ticket to a stable life. But by the end of their studies, more and more students come to realise that this contract no longer holds.