This paper aims to provide a coherent analysis of the economic impact accession to the Eurasian Economic Union has had on the economies of current member states and what affect membership would have on the economy of Azerbaijan. By applying a Linear Regression Model we find that membership to this regional bloc has yielded minimal financial benefits for the existing members. However, for most states, accession has increased the trade deficit with Russia and that a membership would likely produce a similar negative outcome for Azerbaijan in addition to undermining national economic and energy policy making.

In this study, we examined the impacts of population age groups of 0–14, 15–64 and 65-above on residential electricity consumption in Azerbaijan within the STIRPAT framework. Unlike many prior studies of STIRPAT framework, we analyzed this impact, employing co-integration and error correction method in order to rule out possible spurious estimation results caused by non-stationary data used. Results from the Autoregressive Distributed Lags Bounds Testing approach, which is the preferred method among alternatives in the case of small samples, indicated that the affluence together with age groups have significant impact on the residential electricity consumption in Azerbaijan and the biggest effect comes from the age group of 15–64, which is the working age population. Another finding of the study is that if there is any (economic, social, environmental, etc.) shock to the system that initially affect residential electricity consumption and affluence, the whole shock will be absorbed by the system less than in one year. Findings of the study may be useful in making appropriate decisions in the fields of residential electricity consumption.

This study examines the trust in political institutions in Azerbaijan using the data from the survey Caucasus Barometer (CB) conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC) in 2012–2013. Two hypotheses – cultural and institutional – were tested. The study partially confirms the previous findings that national culture, as well as individual socialization (macro and micro-cultural theories) are the main determinants of trust in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, government performance and individual evaluation (macro-and micro institutional theories) did not affect much on the trust level in the country.

This article looks at the interdependences between the democratisation processes in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh and the management of the Karabakh conflict, focussing on the EU’s democracy promotion policies. The article argues that the EU’s normative foreign policy in the South Caucasus has been limited by the permanence of the protracted conflicts, in two interrelated ways. First, by not addressing the conflicts the EU focused on long-term goals but failed to provide short-term incentives towards peace. Second, by allowing only a limited involvement in the protracted conflicts, especially inside Karabakh, the EU was perceived as a reluctant partner, undermining its normative credentials.

Hegemonic parties in authoritarian regimes can fulfill important purposes for those regimes and thereby contribute to their survival. Along with the consolidation of authoritarian regimes, hegemonic political parties have emerged in some post-Soviet states, raising questions about the role that these parties play in the survival of the regimes. This article asks which of the purposes that are frequently ascribed to ruling authoritarian parties are fulfilled by United Russia, the Yeni Azerbaijan Party, and Nur Otan of Kazakhstan, the hegemonic parties of the three strongest consolidated authoritarian regimes with a hegemonic party in the former Soviet Union. It is argued that despite the increasing prominence of the hegemonic parties, full-fledged party-based authoritarianism has not yet been established in Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan.