Thread by @algalitsky

There are elements of the “opposition” in Turkey & Azerbaijan that oppose their dictators but promote anti-Armenian hatred.

Regardless of their calls for reform, as long as they’re guided by their hatred of us & refuse to reconcile w/ their past they will never know freedom.

I say this not because Armenians are the center of the universe, but because the way the Armenian issue has been dealt with in Turkey and Azerbaijan is representative of how authoritarianism manifests itself in both countries.

By effectively criminalizing acknowledgement of the genocide & promoting anti-Armenian hatred, the Turkish and Azerbaijani states have normalized state censorship and set the foundation for the dehumanization of non-Turkic minority groups.

By using the Armenian (or in Turkey's case, any minority national non-Turkic minority - Armenians and Kurds are most prominent) as scapegoats for internal dysfunction, the state has also justified its stranglehold over society.

Both states have monopolized nation-building - one that at best excludes and at worst comes at the expense of national minority groups. This has allowed the state to extend its control into every social institution - including education, religion and media.

Scapegoating has also afforded the regimes an excuse for any internal dysfunction - meaning rather than being held accountable during times of domestic crisis, they can crack down further on basic freedoms under the guise of targeting those "treacherous elements" in society.

Censorship, civil society crackdowns, state overreach, etc. - a lot of this was permissible in Turkey and Azerbaijan because the initial targets of that suppression were the "enemies within." Over time, it gave the state license to further expand its control.

This phenomenon manifests itself in many ways, and the list of state enemies grows by the day. But to a great extent, both nations were built on the "othering" of the Armenian. Turkey in re-writing the narrative of WW1, and Azerbaijan in trying to grapple with defeat in 1994.

The reason you don't see institutionalized anti-Turkic hatred in Armenia is because Armenian identity is not based on the "othering" of the Turk. Our identity is rooted in our connection to our land, our ancient culture, and the intangible spiritual bond that connects our people.