Technological determinism or strategic advantage? Comparing the two Karabakh Wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan

In 2020, the Azerbaijani army launched a massive attack on Armenian positions in Nagorno-Karabakh. After 44 days of fighting, Azerbaijan scored a major victory, forcing Armenian forces to retreat from the territories around Karabakh, followed by the deployment of Russian peacekeeping troops. While m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of strategic studies Vol. 47; no. 2; pp. 214 - 237
Main Author Cheterian, Vicken
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Routledge 23.02.2024
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Armenia
Army
Azerbaijan
Comparative studies
Deployment
Determinism
drones
Karabakh
Peacekeeping
Political transition
Russia
strategy
War
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Summary:In 2020, the Azerbaijani army launched a massive attack on Armenian positions in Nagorno-Karabakh. After 44 days of fighting, Azerbaijan scored a major victory, forcing Armenian forces to retreat from the territories around Karabakh, followed by the deployment of Russian peacekeeping troops. While many analysts have focused on advanced technology to explain Azerbaijan's victory, this article argues that a comparative study of the First Karabakh War (1991-1994) and the Second Karabakh War (2020) points to differences at the strategic level, including political transitions, diplomatic policies, and military forecasts, to propose a comprehensive and strategic discussion of the two wars, away from technological determinism.
ISSN:0140-2390
1743-937X
DOI:10.1080/01402390.2022.2127093