Migration for the purposes of education in the context of modernization ideas in Azerbaijan

Abstract

What has changed in the post-Soviet period in the field of educational migration from Azerbaijan? The socio-political and cultural contexts are certainly quite different from those that existed, for example, during the Soviet years. In the meanwhile, the current situation is a direct continuation of the tradition of sending students abroad for "modern" knowledge. As in the previous years, a significant (if not the largest) share of intellectuals who were educated in the "West" prefer to emigrate rather than to return to the country of origin. In this regard, any hopes for a successful transfer of democratic values into Azerbaijan seem difficult to implement. The most obvious innovation of the post-Soviet period is the active involvement of young people receiving their education/educated abroad, into the policy of Diaspora-building. The latter is part and parcel of the policy of the Azeri political regime to lobby its interests in the EU, the U.S. and the countries of the former Soviet Union.