Azerbaijan's Neft Dashlari oil field has been active since the 1950s. (c) Sergei Grits / AP / Press Association Images. All rights reserved.The first four days of April 2016 saw a short conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, supported by Armenian forces. The result was inconclusive, but it revealed the extent of polarisation in Azerbaijan and how unequal forces in the opposing camps are in this country.
Few people in Azerbaijan dared to suggest that both sides might bear some responsibility for the clashes. Those who did faced a solid wall of national-patriotic fervour, which included even people who had previously called themselves liberals and human rights advocates. To find yourself beyond the borders of this patriotic front was riskier than just losing your voice in the crowd.
But where did this wave of popular euphoria at the possibility of even a small victory (won at great cost) come from?
