Authors

Cesare Figari¹;  ¹ The Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland

Discussion

On the 27th of September 2020 war began between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. There was a surge in patriotism, and it became apparent that most of the Azerbaijani population supported the war. Nonetheless, some alternative discourses emerged: in late September a group of 17 Azerbaijani leftists signed and anti-war manifesto which condemned the war, while in early October some Azerbaijanis signed a peace statement which called for immediate secession of hostilities.

However, these anti-war voices subsequently faced verbal backlash by common people who were in favour of the war. Hence, the people-to-people backlash acted as a force of conformity. On the other hand, based on available information, there was little coercive disciplining by the State Apparatus itself.

With this research, I therefore intend to study if and how non-conforming voices can be pushed towards conformity by common people, not just by the State Apparatus itself. Emotions like fear and shame mediate the process, but more research needs to be done on these psychological mechanisms. Moreover, I investigate the affective mechanisms that make non-conforming voices resilient to conformity.

Methodologically, I will use post-structural insights and conduct in-depth interviews with anti-war voices to understand the psychological and emotional pressure they faced. Ultimately, this should help understand how non-conforming voices can be pushed towards conformity not just by the State Apparatus, but also by common people.