National-Cultural Relations in the Cultural System: Modern West and Renewed Azerbaijan

 Nigar HUSEYNOVA

Abstract: Located at the crossroads of the West and the East and of various civili­zations, modern Azerbaijan has been shaped by an environment of cultural diversity and a rich national culture for centuries. In this country, which is an example for the world, representatives of various cultures live in an environment of mutual under­standing, religiosity, and dialogue. It is no coincidence that the tolerance historically inherent in Azerbaijanis has become an integral part of the lifestyle and activities of every citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, regardless of their national culture, lan­guage and religion. Today, the tolerance model of the Azerbaijani people, which can be an example for many countries, is also confirmed by existing literary-artistic, sci­entific-philosophical, and political-legal sources and documents.

Tolerance in Azerbaijan is implemented at the level of state policy.

Tolerance, which is considered one of the main paradigms of the cultural life of the 21st century, has found its embodiment in real reality as a means of humanism, free cultural self-expression and the right to protect the cultural identity of all citizens of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s culturally diverse national culture has developed as a unity of Eastern and Western values, uniqueness, and universality, and is considered an example of multiculturalism and tolerance throughout the world.

Keywords: Azerbaijan, cultural relations, cultural diversity, multiculturalism, toler­ance, postmodernısm.

Cultural relations are a factor of particular importance in the cultural system, which is a broad, complex concept. International cultural rela­tions are actively influenced by vari­ous factors, including globalization, democratization, integration, etc. pro­cesses. This system of alliance in­cludes relations in the fields of artistic and aesthetic culture, science, educa­tion, sports and tourism. Along with interstate relations, diaspora and inter­national organizations also play a spe­cial role in the development of cul­tural relations at the global level.

Azerbaijan’s international cultural relations, which occupy a worthy place in the system of global inter­cultural relations, have a rich and an­cient history. Azerbaijan, which has lived in conditions of close cultural relations with the East, later estab­lished cultural relations with Western countries. Modern Western and Azer­baijani cultural relations can be classi­fied as follows based on socio-philo­sophical analysis:

1. Azerbaijan-North America (USA, Canada) cultural relations.
2. Azerbaijan-Western Europe cul­tural relations.
3. Azerbaijan-Eastern Europe and post-Soviet countries-the Baltic re­publics, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Moldova, Romania, etc. mutual cul­tural relations between countries.

The development of cultural rela­tions between the modern West and the renewed Azerbaijan depends on a well-thought-out and mutually benefi­cial cultural policy at the present time. Researchers rightly point out that the­oretical research in this area lags be­hind the dynamics of cultural globali­zation¹. There are probably many rea­sons for this, and one of them is the gradual narrowing of real distances between cultures. Claude Levi-Strauss once said about this that “people are seriously experiencing the shock of a very high degree of rapprochement of other cultures, as more and more peo­ple settle in the places where they live. I believe that, in fact, they need dis­tances to live a healthy life. Individu­als, social groups, and cultures need sufficient space and distance to elimi­nate various pathologies that now exist”².

In the process of studying culture, including national culture, which is its component, history is often referred to. This is natural. Because the content of culture requires the study of the historical path it has taken. It is no coincidence that forgetfulness is con­sidered the greatest vice of man. In this sense, a people who have forgot­ten their history are considered to have lost their national identity. The ideas of each people about history are in their past. Regardless of the path the people have taken, they have par­ticipated in this past. In this process, the history of the human race living in the forms of community, tribe, people, ethnic group and nation that have ap­peared on the stage of history since the 19^th century has been written. Every people, which still feels the need to preserve its mentality and uniqueness, tries to preserve the terri­torial integrity it has formed as a result of the historical path it has taken to purify its national values. To do this, it is forced to turn to strong leaders, religious beliefs, a certain proportion of regional relations, the power of the state, moral values ​​and many other opportunities. In an integrating world, new technologies play a leading role. Communication is becoming simpler; its possibilities are expanding, and its influence is increasing. Culture is also subject to these influences. Observa­tions show that “the differences that have arisen in the modern era along religious, civilizational, national, and historical lines have not only been eliminated or diminished; they have even begun to enter a very danger­ously acute stage. The growth of wealth paradoxically intensifies not only cultural but also socio-economic contradictions”³.

The influence of the culture of the indigenous peoples of South America on the cultural life of peoples consid­ered foreign, or “alien”, is quite large. Along with the widespread Spanish language, local dialects are also used in this region. In addition, the peoples living in that region maintain their religious beliefs, customs and tradi­tions at a fairly high level. Sometimes foreign, sometimes local cultures are the leading parties in such processes. The factor influencing this ratio is the socio-political and economic devel­opment of the country. When a coun­try has rich resources, more interna­tional firms and companies are inter­ested in using and benefiting from them. As a result, the country gains more opportunities to innovate and live a modern life. There is also diver­sity in the use of this opportunity. The role played by the oil factor for oil countries is well known. This power­ful development factor plays an ex­tremely important role in the lives of many countries, including in the field of culture. As the real ground for inte­gration into the world expands, the opportunities to benefit from various cultural areas also increase.

From this point of view, one can turn to the example of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has a leading role due to its strategic position in the region. This is due to both its geographical location and the oil factor. The “oil era”, which spanned nearly two hun­dred years, played an exceptional role in the development of Azerbaijani culture. It is well known how Baku, considered the “oil capital” of the world, has developed in terms of ar­chitecture and fine arts. The harmoni­ous development of various Eastern and Western art schools and styles has resulted in the creation of wonderful, human-pleasing architectural gems in this country. Baku has become a mod­ern city of unparalleled beauty, formed at the junction of two or more architectural and fine arts styles⁴.

Similar processes can be observed in all other places where people live. The economic factor has played a major role in the formation and devel­opment of the capitals of the world, large cities, and urban culture in gen­eral. K. Marx, one of the founders of social philosophy, once wrote about this.

The development of production re­sults in the formation of a new way of life. And the stability of development is ensured by the customs and tradi­tions, the forms of social life we ​​are accustomed to, including processes taking place in the areas of language, religion, everyday life, family, and production. Currently, peoples who “suffer” the pain and suffering of the process called “multiculturalism” are trying, first of all, to preserve its uni­versal content (this content, as re­searchers note, is clearly manifested in the principles of tolerance, political tolerance, and respect for human rights)⁵. Social groups and associa­tions representing different cultural norms should be able to combine their efforts in the direction of beneficial cooperation.

In addition to inviting cooperation, the task of developing the rules of intercultural dialogue also falls on philosophers. At meetings held at various levels, the world philosophical community can operate more effec­tively in the following ways:

– to analyze and improve the phi­losophy of education in more depth;

– to conduct scientific research to­gether with representatives of other social and humanitarian sciences, strengthening the practical side in this area. (To do this, work on real projects around common problems that con­cern countries with a common lan­guage, religion, and historical destiny – moral values, the language problem, social structure, and spiritual herit­age);

-to create chronological and logical development schemes of cultural pro­cesses, identify their similarities and differences, and build future devel­opment scenarios of these schemes using communicative opportunities;

-to try to raise the level of devel­opment of areas that constitute spe­cific national cultural values, together with specialists in these areas, etc.⁶.

It should be noted that among the ideas formed about the future devel­opment of human society, there are also ideas about a “post-human” be­ing, similar to F. Nietzsche’s idea of ​​“superhuman”. Cultural diversity can be distinguished against the back­ground of a certain identity in human society. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the freedom and individuality of man, which are an important component of culture, and the path taken by his rights histori­cally.

As researchers have shown, the development of cultural values ​​throughout history has mainly gone in two directions – the development of internal uniqueness and the formation of universal identity. In other words, here we are talking about the general and the particular, the essence and the event. The development along both lines continue even now. Although this process reflects the essence of uniqueness and individuality built on self-determination, it is built on the idea of ​​identity, difference, and the affirmation of the existence of others. While uniqueness is unique, identity is multiple and diverse⁷.

Tolerance is a social phenomenon that allows us to accept diversity as one of the meanings that express the es­sence of the modern globalized world and, on its basis, to confirm the idea that each manifestation is im­portant.

In modern society, along with the circumstances that allow people to evaluate events from the position of tolerance, there are other development trends that undermine individuality, leading to its massification and, at the same time, to a crisis of identity. As is known, the so-called “mass” society began to take shape approximately after World War II, and this process is still ongoing.

It can be said that McClure’s idea of the “network society” and “network culture” is now also finding its con­firmation. Diversity is increasing; however, the massification that has prevailed for about a hundred years is gradually giving way to the expansion of the growing opportunity for choice. Although there is currently no suffi­ciently acceptable common ideal, project, or idea in the universal human space, the forms of identity that have been achieved provide stability and peace, even if real processes in the political, socio-economic, legal, and some cultural fields leave the further development of society without ideals. The possibilities for using that oppor­tunity are expanding, and the children of humanity can increase their success in designing the future, based on their cultural diversity.

In order to clearly imagine the general picture of the currently form­ing world cultural diversity, it is first of all necessary to deeply study the uniqueness of local cultures. This ap­plies to both researchers and carriers of all cultures. In short, the formation, genesis and modern state of culture is a methodology for studying the role it plays in the world today and the di­rections of influence, as well as the characteristics of development. With­out doing this work, it is impossible to adequately analyze the processes tak­ing place. Also, it is difficult to assess the formation and development char­acteristics of Azerbaijan’s culture in the history of Azerbaijan and deter­mine its place here without studying the cultural processes of the countries located in the region. The same can be said about the cultural history of other peoples.

It should be borne in mind that ethnocultural diversity is managed at the domestic, regional and interna­tional levels. In management, the po­litical factor is of particular im­portance, first of all, because all man­agement is based on political power. Thus, the political factor plays a sig­nificant role in the formation of toler­ance and conducting intercultural di­alogue as a leading factor in the cur­rent globalization process. The demo­cratic, open-society management model introduced by the West is cur­rently gaining a universal nature and spreading throughout the world⁸.

In modern conditions, a very im­portant factor ensuring the stability of world unity is the prevention of the emergence and deepening of conflicts. At the same time, it should not be for­gotten that the processes of individu­ality and acculturation, by denying each other, create the basis for the emergence and development of these conflicts.

In general, from what has been said, we can draw the following con­clusion: since globalization is in dif­ferent positions in different countries in modern times due to its spread area and influence, cultural diversity in­creases, and the process of develop­ment and formation of subcultures becomes quite diverse. Here, each national culture, while preserving its national color, also faces losses. Mass media are actively developing, and new information and communication technologies are being created. As a result, the cultural values ​​​​of each na­tion are rapidly spreading and being assimilated or replaced by others. Since this process is bilateral, national cultures are subject to losses, degra­dation and deformation.

In this sense, researchers face many tasks: to study various aspects of the globalized world, including its political, economic, and spiritual characteristics; to analyze the changes that have occurred in language, reli­gion, education, everyday life, and mental representations during this process, to evaluate it adequately, etc. Sometimes, when they say multicul­turalism, they mean not cultural diver­sity, but intolerance, hatred, and ag­gression, which undermines the true meaning of real processes. In the cur­rent situation, the main aspect should be human identity. Intercultural dia­logue conducted for the sake of hu­man values ​​and stereotypes based on the principle of humanism should be­come a strategic development line of the modern contradictory world. Along with tolerance, that is, toler­ance, a person also needs respect, love, trust, and sympathy⁹.

But what should be the limits of tolerance? An acceptable answer to this question has not yet been found. Tolerance can also be understood as indifference. Therefore, cultural dia­logue based on tolerance is not yet enough. In order for tolerance not to become just a tool of globalization, it is necessary to think about the basis on which this should occur. In addi­tion to forming a unified world, the extremely increased cultural relations allow us to eliminate the negative consequences of technical progress and perceive all its positive ad­vantages, and this oppor­tunity should be used to the maximum extent possi­ble.

The structure, development and future of the world depend primarily on its freedom and the increase in the responsibility of man arising from it. Here, not only tolerance but also all uni­versal values ​​​​obtained in human history as a whole are of great im­portance.

In modern times, the global world is also analyzed from a postmodern perspective. How is the role of culture imagined in a globalized world from the perspective of postmodernism? Postmodernism is considered a reac­tion to the development of techno­genic civilization as a whole¹⁰. It is believed that postmodernism was a reaction to the “modern movement” that took place in the philosophy and design of urban planning in the first half of the 20^th century. In this pro­cess, disorder in the expression of content, violation of rules, and a criti­cal approach to oneself and others prevail¹¹.

In modern conditions, national cui­sine, national clothing, gender differ­ences, national medicine, and the na­tional education system are mixed with other cultural areas in the new information space, significantly losing their nationality. The technologies and content of education are also ap­proaching each other and becoming integrated. In such conditions, alt­hough the development prospects of national cultures are different, a single space inevitably creates certain limi­tations. In the best case, equality should be created in the starting state so that each nation can develop in the way it considers acceptable and can preserve at least its ethnographic char­acteristics.

Let us recall that political relations and the national ideology and culture built on them are an important com­ponent of public life. The mentioned areas play the role of a template, a framework for ideas about man and the surrounding world, determining the features of the political organiza­tion of society, the nature of manage­ment, its ideals and patterns of be­havior. Like political relations, na­tional culture is also built on the inter­ests and needs of various human groups. In the history of society, the understanding of the achievements of national culture in the fields of litera­ture, art, etc. has played a role of stim­ulus for their further development. At the same time, the possibility of regu­lating the development of national culture through ideology has begun to be widely used. At this point, the im­portance of the international legisla­tive system should also be specially emphasized.

National culture within the country significantly affects the management structures, the nature of the mutual relations of social classes and groups, and the development of important social institutions – family, education, science, art. That is why the dissemi­nation and promotion of the ideals of national cultures among the countries of the world, primarily developed countries, is extremely important in bringing peoples closer together and establishing various mutually benefi­cial relations.

As is known, Azerbaijan estab­lishes relations with many countries of the world in various fields, and many of them have deep historical roots. First of all, it is necessary to talk about European countries. Because Azerbaijan, with its rich natural re­sources and favorable geographical conditions, has always been in the sphere of interest of economically powerful countries in those regions. Among the relations of a traditional nature, it is necessary to mention, first of all, the relations formed with Germany, Italy and France. Among the priorities of these and other coun­tries, constantly competing with Russia for the sphere of influence, national ideology and national culture have also been among the priorities.

Among the works carried out within the framework of intercultural dialogue, first of all, one can mention the policy carried out in the socio-economic and cultural spheres, the construction of oil and gas pipelines, the restoration of the “Silk Road”, the implementation of the TACIS-TRACECA international project, the application of the Bologna system in education, our country’s joining a number of Western European frame­work programs for the development of science, active participation in various international events in sports, etc.

As is known, Azerbaijan actively participates in these processes in rele­vant programs and events, together with UNESCO, the Council of Eu­rope, and other international organi­zations. As experts believe, “Azer­baijan’s foreign policy priorities in­clude integration into the European Union system, where Western coun­tries are represented, as well as into the global world political space in the economic, political, social, and cul­tural spheres. By joining this system, Azerbaijan gains the opportunity to use its existing resources more effi­ciently, safely, and without losses to ensure the prosperous life of its peo­ple, as well as to achieve the rapid entry of advanced world technologies, investment, and foreign capital into the country’s economy and the devel­opment of the non-oil sector. In this regard, conditions are also created to reform the country’s internal eco­nomic, social, and other structures using the opportunities of the European Union and the United States and bring them up to world stand­ards”¹².

Despite some negative effects of the recent political processes in Azerbaijan and the region as a whole, the main priorities for the develop­ment of national culture have been selected, and intensive and useful work is being carried out in these ar­eas. Among these, cooperation in various cultural fields can be men­tioned. To expand the prospects of this cooperation, it is necessary to further intensify work in the following areas:

─ strengthening the economic level – this opens up a wide path for cultural ties;

─ complex problems in the foreign policy of the state require the transfer of its management to various organi­zational structures with full responsi­bility. Foreign policy itself is a set of various activities of the state in the international world and reflects at­tempts to channel the result of each activity process in this area into the channel of certain procedural flows. The resources used by the state for its foreign policy – political, diplomatic, economic, military, legal, and infor­mational directions – require its man­agement by separate organizational-structural units – the ministries of for­eign affairs, defense and finance, and necessitate regular improvement of activities in this area;

─ Although the scope of authority of each organizational-structural unit for the formulation and implementa­tion of foreign policy is determined in advance, their activities may some­times overlap. In this case, coordina­tion by the central government is re­quired. The top leadership is responsi­ble for the development and imple­mentation of the policy course and determines which organization will deal with this or that problem.

─ To increase the efficiency of foreign policy research and the identi­fication of priority directions, new research centers, higher education institutions, etc., are being created. One of such centers is the Center for Strategic Studies. The search for new opportunities for intercultural dialogue should be one of the leading directions of activity in the work of this Center.

Conclusion

Western-Azerbaijani national-cul­tural relations are successfully devel­oping in the global system of socio-political relations. In short, cultural integration between the modern West and Azerbaijan is carried out within the framework of the exchange of material and spiritual cultural samples, holding these cultural days, twinning of cities, organizing exhibitions, es­tablishing cultural centers, translating works, and developing cooperation in the field of preserving cultural herit­age. One of the main aspects that de­velops cultural relations between the modern West and the renewed Azerbaijan is the creation of an effec­tive legal framework that can facilitate cooperation at the state level in this area. By the way, let us note that Azerbaijan successfully fulfils the role of a bridge both in terms of geo­graphical location and intercultural relations. In his speech at the opening of the Second World Forum on Inter­cultural Dialogue in Baku, the Presi­dent of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, said, “We are united by the development of multi­culturalism, the successful future of intercultural dialogue, and, thus, the strengthening of positive trends in the world. In this case, we must also try to strengthen these positive trends with our own work, with our own practical steps”¹³.

Thus, a comprehensive, systematic and philosophical analysis of the topic under study based on factual materials proves that cultural relations are an important phenomenon that occupies a key place in the cultural system, mutually introduces, disseminates, and promotes national cultures, and enriches global culture.

Notes

• М. Култаева, “Локальное в лабиринтах всемирного общества: методологический аспект”, Вопросы философии, nr. 9, 2011, pp. 34-44.
• Константина Барлевена и Галы Наумовой, ”Беседа с Клодом Леви-Строссом”, Вопросы философии, 2009, nr.5, pp. 66-79.
• А. А. Гусейнов, ”Единство мира и многообразие культур (материалы «круглого стола» украинских и русских философов)”, Вопросы философии, nr. 9, 2011, pp. 3-34.
• İbrahimov, “Azərbaycan xalq cümhuriyyəti dövründə keçirilən dil siyasəti”, Uluslararası Türkçe Edebiyat Kültür Eğitim, nr. 9/4 2020, pp. 1411-1424.
• А. А. Гусейнов, cit., pp. 3-34.
• Д.В. Сергеев, “Культурно-семанти-ческие стратегии преодоление культурного кризиса в общест-венном сознании”, Вопросы философии, nr. 10, 2011, pp. 28-36.
• А. А. Гусейнов, cit., pp. 3-34.
• А. А. Гусейнов, cit., pp.3-34.
• А.В. Рубцов, “Архитектоника постмодерна: время”, Вопросы философии, nr.10, 2011, p. 37.
• Ibidem.
• AZƏRBAYCAN beynəlxalq aləmdə, http://files.preslib.az/projects/azerbai­jan.
• BAKIDA II Ümumdünya Mədəniyyə-tlərarası Forumunun açılışında Azərbaycan Prezidenti İlham Əliyevin nitqi, ”Azərbaycan” qəzeti, nr. 117 (6392), 31 may 2013-cü il, p. 1.

Bibliography

Studies and articles

BAKIDA II Ümumdünya Mədəniyyət-lərarası Forumunun açılışında Azərbaycan Prezidenti İlham Əliyevin nitqi, “Azərbaycan” qəzeti, 31 may 2013-cü il, nr. 117 (6392), p.1.

БАРЛЕВЕНА Константина и НАУМОВОЙ Галы, “Беседа с Клодом Леви-Строссом”, Вопросы философии, 2009, nr.5, pp. 66-79.

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Online resources

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DEMOQRAFİK göstəricilər,

http://www.azstat.org.

İBRAHİMOV, E., “Azərbaycan xalq cümhuriyyəti dövründə keçirilən dil siyasəti. Uluslararası Türkçe Edebiyat Kültür Eğitim Dergisi Sayı: 9/4 2020 s. 1411-1424, TÜRKİYE https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/ar­ticle-file/1482034.