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Azerbaijani Blogs Talk About Armenians: Introducing Hate 2.0

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  • Azerbaijani Blogs Talk About Armenians: Introducing Hate 2.0

    AZERBAIJANI BLOGS TALK ABOUT ARMENIANS: INTRODUCING HATE 2.0
    Arzu Geybullayeva

    Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso
    http://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Regions-and-countries/Azerbaijan/Azerbaijani-blogs-talk-about-Armenians-introducing-Hate-2.0-111320
    Feb 3 2012

    International Alert, an NGO based in London working on conflict
    resolution, did a study on how people on opposite sides of the
    conflicts in the South Caucasus perceived each other. Our correspondent
    focused on how Armenians were depicted in online discourse in Baku. An
    insiders' look into the dark side of the Azerbaijani blogosphere

    A group of scholars, researchers, and specialists was selected to
    examine a range of sources, from history textbooks, to the media and
    blogosphere, as well as speeches made by politicians to understand
    better the dynamics behind the conflicts in the South Caucasus. The
    aim of this research, "Myths and conflict", was to identify key words,
    narratives, and other innuendos that reference the concept of "us vs.

    them" or "friend vs. enemy". I was part of the research team. In my
    research, I looked at the Azerbaijani blogosphere in order to identify
    systemically-used stereotypes and propaganda to dehumanize Armenians
    and Armenia. The results of this research will be released in early
    2012 and should be available through International Alert's website.

    Dehumanizing the 'other' The tone used to talk about Armenians in
    the online media - possibly even more than in traditional media - is
    clearly one of hate. This is part of a process of dehumanization of the
    enemy that is characteristic of conflicts in general. Communication
    and media analyst Karim Karim suggests that "hate-mongers can then
    'justify' acts of violence and degradation because they have denied
    the humanity of their victims".

    This definition fits the rhetoric of hate-oriented blogs in
    Azerbaijan. In fact, dehumanization is at times combined with
    belittling, name-calling and other degrading comparisons in the
    majority of posts targeting Armenia and Armenians. As a result one can
    clearly see the extent of bitterness, anger, and adverse attitudes that
    exist between the two countries not only in traditional outlets but
    also in the parallel world of online content. In this parallel world,
    hate 2.0 is taken to a completely different level with no strings
    attached and no responsibility taken for what is said, illustrated,
    and written.

    Azerbaijani blogosphere Though the Azerbaijani blogosphere is barely
    a decade old, blogging has become more popular in Azerbaijan only in
    the last two to three years. According to the most recent Freedom
    House report, there are in total about 27,000 blogs operating on
    various blogging platforms.

    Topics vary extensively with authors writing about art, movies, food,
    society, tradition, politics, social issues, and more. Of course,
    among the most widely-discussed themes in blogs and popular blogs
    are the Karabakh conflict, relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
    and negative perceptions of Armenians. Let us call them "hate blogs".

    The most common theme for hate blogs is mutual perceptions. It is
    also the most explicit and acute theme in terms of the language used,
    analogies made, and the overall attitude. Being a blogger myself
    who works in the conflict resolution field, reading these blogs
    was unpleasant to say the least. The appalling descriptions used in
    reference to the "other" - such as descriptions portraying "them" as
    thieves, liars, drunks, prostitutes, and cave propagandists - later
    appeared to be "kind" when compared to some of the analogies that
    were simply beyond my ability to comprehend. It was almost as if the
    authors were reassuring themselves and their readers that the "other"
    was no longer a human and that it was ok to humiliate them, belittle
    them, kill them, let them die, and get rid of them all together.

    In a post about the shooting death of an Armenian civilian - a shepherd
    - by the Azerbaijani military forces on the border, an Azerbaijani
    blogger concluded "In any case, there is one less Armenian and this
    is the happiest part of this news story" [Post originally written in
    Azerbaijani]. The post expressed no regret about the actual death,
    and even championed the incident.

    In another post, the author compared Armenia to a disease that should
    be eradicated. "Yeah, almost forgot, the worst flu I am referring to
    has a similar name to that of bird flu and swine flu, in our language,
    we call it "Armenian flu". The symptoms of this flu include hypocrisy,
    fraud, and double standards" [Post originally written in Azerbaijani].

    In an additional spin to the post, the author proudly added: "We are
    sick with this Armenian trash! [...] Hypocrisy they have, terror they
    have it [...] Now I think, will we even find a vaccine against this
    dangerous flu? Let's not forget: to find a vaccine is written only
    in our destiny."

    These and other examples that were used for the purpose of this
    research indicated an important factor: youth are also becoming deeply
    affected by the negative relations between the two countries that
    are reflected in the media, general political statements, and the
    overall attitude of the government. The clear annihilation messages,
    the overall tone of the posts, and the bloggers' hostile attitudes
    were in no way creations of these bloggers but rather the results
    of decades-long policy and measures taken by the local government to
    further embed anger and hatred.

    Future of hate 2.0 No doubt, this research only reveals the tip of
    the iceberg. This is just another example of the fact that in spite
    of its extremely powerful liberating potential, the Internet is not
    intrinsically good.

    It can be used to strengthen stereotypes and can contribute to shaping
    public opinion in the favour of conflict.

    As the research shows, many young people in Azerbaijan have very strong
    positions regarding the conflict that are unsupportive of the peace
    process to say the least. It also indicated the amount of work that
    needs to be done as well as the pressing need to take concrete steps
    in gradually shifting these negative attitudes, building positive
    relationships, fostering dialogue and creating space for mutual
    understanding rather than hatred between Armenia and Azerbaijan. More
    importantly, the research underscores the need to start this work to
    promote mutual understanding among youth in particular.

    Perhaps, hate 2.0 in Azerbaijan is here to stay. But there is a chance
    that online communities with access to first-hand accounts of the
    'other' will instead mostly contribute to changing attitudes for the
    positive in the region as a new, tech-savvy generation grows. Sure
    enough, alternatives to "hate 2.0" exist and are possible. The online
    world is the world of opportunities, after all...

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