February 4, 2022
Podcast: Michael Doran on the Most Strategically Valuable Country You’ve Never Heard Of
By Michael Doran, Tikvah Podcast at MosaicSituated between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan could be a key partner in the struggle for Eurasia. And a stronger alliance between Washington and Baku could benefit Jerusalem, too.
This Week’s Guest: Michael Doran
The Republic of Azerbaijan scrambles the assumptions of even the most veteran foreign-policy hands. Sitting at the nexus of Europe and Asia, Azerbaijan is the only nation that borders both Iran and Russia; it is at the center of global energy; and, despite being a Muslim-majority nation, it has had a formal relationship with Israel for almost 30 years. By looking at Azerbaijan, this week’s podcast guest suggests that one can reimagine America’s approach to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Michael Doran, a foreign-policy analyst and long-time Mosaic writer, argues in a recent essay that Azerbaijan is uniquely positioned to work with America in pursuit of geopolitical goals that serve both nations. In conversation with Mosaic‘s editor Jonathan Silver, Doran explains what makes Azerbaijan such a unique country, how it relates to Russia, Israel, Iran, and Turkey, and how it can help the United States recover the geostrategic discipline it needs to strengthen its friends and to counter its adversaries.