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Conflicts in music in the South Caucasus: The case of Armenians and Azerbaijanis

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Musicae Scientiae

Published online on

Abstract

This article explores how music is employed in the service of nationalist ideas by two Caucasian peoples: the Azeris and the Armenians. The small-scale case study reported here focuses on a folk song that is popular in both nations (known respectively as Sari Gelin/Sari Aghjik) and on its reception in social media. The paper shows that doctrinal, national myths cultivated in Armenia and Azerbaijan are remarkably similar and have a stronghold in the mindset of the respective nations on an everyday level. Individuals from both nations may include certain desired elements in their respective cultures or exclude certain unwanted elements that reveal the similarities between the two. Both countries are characterised by semi-totalitarian regimes in which a state-financed official media is under the control of an oligarchy or the government. As this makes social media one of the very few places for free discourse, elements of peace-building between countries can also be found. Yet even here, on a micro level, social media reflects national myths that are common to these two nations.