Facing Growing Iranian Ties, Azerbaijan Deepens Ties To Israel
by Robert M. Cutler (05/15/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Iranian legislators in Teheran have drafted a bill calling for revision of the 1828 Treaty of Turkmanchay, which divided the multiple Azerbaijani khanates between the Russian and Persian Empires. While this cannot be taken wholly seriously, it is a symbol of the deterioration of bilateral relations. It comes against a background of worsening rhetoric between Teheran and Baku, which have in the past extended into subversive actions by Iran on the territory of Azerbaijan. It is thus in the line of longstanding Iranian threats against Azerbaijani sovereignty and the government of President Ilham Aliyev.
CACI Analyst, May 01, 2013
New Minister Of Education Appointed In Azerbaijan
by Mina Muradova (05/01/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Azerbaijan’s president appointed a new Minister of Education six months before the presidential election. Some observers termed the decision a positive development, while others do not think a change of personalities will lead to real reforms of the education system, especially during an election year.
CACI Analyst, April 17, 2013
Azerbaijani Authorities Close Opposition University
by Mina Muradova (04/17/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On April 10, Azerbaijani authorities shut down the Azad Fikir University (AFU, Free Thought University) set up by Western-educated youth leaders to promote human rights and other democratic values among youth. Human rights activists consider this step as representative of the government’s increasing pressure on alternative voices in the country ahead of the presidential election in October, 2013. On April 10, AFU informed its ca. 16,000 Facebook followers that representatives of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office arrived at the AFU without warning, sealed the door and closed the office.
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Analysis Niklas Swanström and Leah Oppenheimer, "Invisible Ink: Looking for the Lost Trade between China, Russia, and Central Asia", ISDP Policy Brief, 13 March 2013. 
New Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr with Adib Farhadi, Finish the Job: Jump-Start the Afghan Economy, December 2012.
Conference Report Cheryl Benard, Eli Sugarman, and Holly Rehm, Cultural Heritage vs. Mining on the New Silk Road? Finding Technical Solutions for Mes Aynak and Beyond (in cooperation with the Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage) December 2012.
Article Svante E. Cornell, "The 'Afghanization of the North Caucasus: Causes and Implications of a Changing Conflict", in Stephen Blank, ed., Russia's Homegrown Insurgency: Jihad in the North Caucasus, Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, 2012.