What is revanchism in Armenia? Azerbaijani Analyst explains

Azerbaijani political analyst and head of the Center for South Caucasus Studies, Farhad Mammadov, posed the question of what revanchism means in Armenia on his Telegram channel.

“There is a lot of talk in Azerbaijan about revanchism in Armenia… In Armenia, they say that there is no revanchism, at least on the part of the Pashinyan government! Let’s try to understand this.

What meaning do Azerbaijanis attach to the concept of revanchism?

For Azerbaijanis, revanchism is the rejection of the fact that 'Karabakh is Azerbaijan!' It is the aspiration of Armenia to resume aggression and restore the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, keeping the issue of Karabakh on the international agenda.

For Armenians, the situation is more complex. The Pashinyan government claims that there is no revanchism, as the Prime Minister of Armenia has stated the recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. This is not due to Pashinyan's sincere desire but rather the lack of opportunity for revanchism.

Another part of Armenian society views revanchism as the rejection of the idea that 'Karabakh is Azerbaijan!' They aspire to wait, gather strength, and reclaim their territories…

Thus, as we can see, for Azerbaijan, revanchism is a broader concept than it is for Armenia.

Surveys conducted in Armenia show that society does not accept the fact that ‘Karabakh is Azerbaijan!’ Moreover, Pashinyan himself won the recent elections with the idea of ‘separation for the sake of salvation.’

After September 2023, Armenia filed lawsuits against Azerbaijan regarding Karabakh, created opportunities for international investigative groups working on behalf of the US State Department, and Armenian diplomats mention ‘Nagorno-Karabakh’ with and without cause. Armenia still has a representative office for the ‘NKR,’ refuses to amend its Constitution and legislation, declines to dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group, and continues to militarize the country.

Thus, revanchism in Armenia, as understood by Azerbaijan, is evident. In this context, Azerbaijan proposes that Armenia take steps (such as dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group, changing laws, closing the representation of a nonexistent entity, etc.) that would create a basis for Azerbaijan to believe that Armenia has no revanchism, as understood by Azerbaijanis. This is, after all, constructive!

Armenia and its leadership should carefully listen to Azerbaijan's proposals and expectations. After all, it was Armenia that occupied Azerbaijani territories for 25 years, not the other way around. If Pashinyan had come to power in Armenia after the 44-day war, Armenia's position might have been somewhat understandable. However, Pashinyan is the author of the statement 'Artsakh is Armenia,' yet now the Constitutional Court of Armenia states that there is no administrative unit by that name in Armenia. To top it off, Alen Simonyan recently declared that Altai is the historical homeland of Azerbaijanis. What is the difference between the representatives of this government and the previous one?! Is Simonian trying to sabotage the planned meeting with the Speaker of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan?!” — wrote Farhad Mammadov.