Azerbaijan's Presidential Election in Context

Azerbaijan will hold its presidential election Oct. 9, but this contest may have less bearing on Baku than the upcoming presidential election in neighboring Georgia. For the past two decades, Azerbaijan's political system has been relatively stable, and there is little reason to think these elections will reverse that trend. But the Caucasus region itself is much more volatile than internal Azerbaijani politics, and Baku may find itself confronted with the prospect of changes that were forced on it from abroad.