Diverging identity development in Georgia and Azerbaijan: the role of natural resources

How do natural resources influence political elite driven nation-building after a national shock? This paper compares neighbouring Azerbaijan and Georgia, former Soviet countries that experienced the shock of independence at the same time. Georgia initially focused on an ethnically driven identity while Azerbaijan looked to a civic form of national identity building. This paper argues, using leadership speeches, that after the fall of the Soviet Union, an institutional shock, petroleum in Azerbaijan helped discourage democracy and promoted civic nationalism because political elites were less reliant on the population for rents and did not need to compete for constituencies to stay in power. Georgia lacked resources, meaning elites, through democratic elections, needed to quickly consolidate control post-shock, encouraging ethnic nationalism, resulting in fractionalization, conflict, and long-lasting effects, still visible today. Ultimately, while resources may have had an initial impact on nation-building, both identity types have become blurred.