How to Capture a State? The Case of Azerbaijan
How to Capture a State? The Case of Azerbaijan

Summary/Abstract: The article applies the model of the clan-state / captured state on the case of Azerbaijan. It discusses the types and forms of informal political institutions in Azerbaijan and explains restructuring of the informal networks that has occurred after Ilham Aliev’s arrival to the presidential office. The core of the article are several mini case studies based mostly on an analysis of local media resources and a primary data collected during field researches conducted in 2006–2014. The article shows that Azerbaijan’s informal political structures based on clientelism and endemic corruption have de facto taken over the country’s formal political scene and using manipulated public tenders transfer a large proportion of oil rents to bank accounts of the ruling elite.

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