Azerbaijan - 2021 (The article one)

The latest wave of torrential rain that paralysed roads, flooded underpasses and submerged entire neighbourhoods of Azerbaijan’s capital no longer looks like merely a story of climate instability. In light of updated technical and programme data, the events point to a more significant issue for external audiences: the widening gap between strategic infrastructure commitments and their actual implementation on the ground.

The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is reshaping Azerbaijan’s digital economy, but it is also accelerating the evolution of cyber fraud, exposing structural weaknesses in financial systems, law enforcement capacity and personal data protection.

The unfolding confrontation around Iran inevitably invites comparisons with the second Karabakh war of 2020 — a conflict that reshaped modern perceptions of warfare through its speed, technological integration and operational clarity. At the same time, parallels are emerging between the “limited” operation by the United States and Israel aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear program and Russia’s so-called special military operation in Ukraine. However, despite certain similarities, the deeper logic of these three cases reveals fundamental differences.

When Azerbaijan’s cabinet of ministers decided in March to extend the country’s special quarantine regime until July 1, the formal explanation sounded familiar. The regulation dates back to the COVID-19 pandemic and legally allows the government to keep Azerbaijan’s land borders closed to passenger movement. Yet six years after the virus first appeared, few observers believe that epidemiology remains the decisive factor.