Political Cleavages

Thus, in order to understand the workings of the executive branch, we must also consider the competing political factions among which the president balances. Political conflict in Azerbaijan breaks down along several simultaneous cross-cutting lines of political cleavage. Over the past 20 years, regional and clan identities, generational divides, and business networks have all proved important in structuring political interests. The intersection of these cleavages is complicated, and the salience of each cleavage has shifted over time. For example, regional and clan affiliations were more important under Heydar Aliyev; today the primary cleavage seems to be between different competing economic factions. But we can distinguish three main political

The group is led by Ramiz Mehdiyev, the president’s chief of staff, who also is a prominent member of the regional grouping of Azerbaijanis born in Armenia. Mehdiyev has served as the president’s chief of staff since 1994; previously, he was the secretary of ideology for the Azerbaijan Communist Party. Mehdiyev was crucial in negotiating the transition from Heydar to Ilham in 2003 and in securing the cabinet’s support in this process. He also oversees the supervision of the administrative apparatus, including local executive authorities. In his position as Chair of the State Civil Service Committee, Mehdiyev has ultimate authority over all civil service appointments, including appointments to administrative posts in the legislature and judiciary. Perhaps most importantly, Mehdiyev directs the de facto administration of elections, issuing detailed instructions to local authorities on how elections should be conducted. As described above, he reportedly approves the list of parliamentary candidates and determines which candidates are given a seat in parliament. Other prominent “old guard” officials include Ramil Usubov, the Minister of the Interior, and Zakir Garalov the Prosecutor General. Usubov has been in office since 1993, while Garalov was appointed to his position in 2000. The former oversees the police and domestic security forces; the latter runs the

This faction includes the Aliyev side (e.g., Ilham Aliyev’s uncles and cousins) as well as Ilham Aliyev’s wife’s relatives, Pashayev family. The “family” also extends to include the president’s bodyguard, Baylar Eyyubov, who is also a distant relation by marriage. Each of these groups controls significant economic assets, including large holding companies with diverse portfolios of ownership and investment. Politically, family members hold a number of prominent public offices. This started during Heydar Aliyev’s presidency, when “a list of eighteen ‘untouchables’, primarily close relatives and other loyalists, were able simultaneously to serve in parliament and the executive” (International Crisis Group 2004: 10). The pattern continues today. As mentioned above, the first lady, Mehriban Aliyeva, is a member of parliament. In addition, she heads the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, a powerful and wealthy charitable organization that acts as a quasi-governmental agency. A recent analysis noted, “The HAF builds more schools than Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Education, more hospitals than the Ministry of Health, and conducts more cultural events than the Ministry of Culture” (Abbasov 2011). Insiders suggest that the oligarchs and ruling elites are regularly tapped to contribute funds to the Foundation or to sponsor its various construction projects (International Crisis Group 2010). The first lady’s uncle, Hafiz