Sarkhan Aliyev

Three Colors of Azerbaijani Identity: Formation of Azerbaijani National Identity Sarkhan Aliyev

Recent developments in Iran prove that the Azerbaijan is not only a state, and there are people who live outside of the Azerbaijan Republic and consider themselves Azerbaijani. The debates over the term ? Azeri?, a designation which for some scholars is just Iranian origin ethnicity that lost their language and accepted Turkic language, for others a nation that existed before the foundation of Azerbaijani Democratic Republic. This work looks at questions of identity for the population of the contemporary Azerbaijan state and others who beyond the borders of republic of Azerbaijan. Having only recently regained full independence, the Azerbaijani population now has the opportunity to define what constitutes Azerbaijani identity.