Socium

The article examines the emergence and development of anti-colonial rhetoric in Azerbaijan’s foreign policy and its transformation into an instrument of contemporary diplomacy. The study places this process in the context of post-Soviet state-building, the Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan’s participation in the Non-Aligned Movement and its chairmanship of the organization from 2019 to 2024. Particular attention is given to the gradual adaptation of the language of decolonization to Azerbaijan’s interpretation of its territorial conflict and, following the restoration of control over Karabakh, to the extension of the anti-colonial agenda to territories beyond the South Caucasus. A central component of this diplomatic strategy has been criticism of France and its governance of overseas territories, particularly New Caledonia (Kanaky), French Polynesia, Mayotte, Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana. The article analyzes the activities of the Baku Initiative Group, the International Front for Decolonization and other state-linked structures, as well as the use of international conferences and United Nations platforms to promote the decolonization agenda. It also considers Azerbaijan’s South-South cooperation initiatives, including humanitarian and educational programs. The article concludes that Azerbaijan’s anti-colonial turn is best understood not as a fully consistent ideological doctrine, but as a pragmatic diplomatic instrument that enables Baku to expand its influence in the Global South, strengthen its negotiating position and advance its foreign-policy interests.