Azerbaijan's Stability and Leadership Role in the South Caucasus: Political Analysis of President Ilham Aliyev's Interview with Journalists

This study aims to critically examine the public discourses of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in 2025 regarding regional geopolitics and peace negotiations with Armenia. A. One Dijk’s socio-cognitive model of Critical Discourse Analysis, Aliyev’s televised speeches are analyzed to reveal how political narratives construct legitimacy, identity, and strategic power positions within the context of the South Caucasus. The analysis focuses on how Azerbaijan’s role in the new world order, the issue of Western Azerbaijanis, and the normalization process with Armenia are framed, and it explores the linguistic and rhetorical strategies employed. The study demonstrates how these discourses reproduce national unity and historical victimhood while delegitimizing opposing actors through binary representations. The findings reveal how language is used as an instrument of power to shape public perception, legitimize policy directions, and redefine geopolitical alignments in a multipolar global context. By approaching the discourse of a relatively under-researched regional leader through this method, the study contributes to the literature on post-conflict state discourse and regional power projection.