Whole Azerbaijan

Whole Azerbaijan is a nationalist and irredentist idea advocating the unification of Azerbaijan with territories beyond its borders that have substantial Azerbaijani populations, especially in Iran.

Connect

Treaty of Turkmenchay: The 1828 treaty that ended the Russo-Persian War and transferred territories in the South Caucasus from Iran to Russia. Its division of Azerbaijani-populated lands between Russian and Persian rule underlies the idea's north–south framing.
Azerbaijani people: A Turkic-speaking ethnic group concentrated in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran, with communities elsewhere. The claimed unity rests on treating populations on both sides of the border as one people.
Azerbaijan–Iran relations: The diplomatic and political relationship between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Iran. The idea can heighten Iranian concern about separatism and complicate bilateral relations.
Territorial integrity: The principle that a state's borders and political unity should be protected from external violation. It directly conflicts with proposals to redraw recognized borders through unification.
Azerbaijani nationalism: A movement promoting Azerbaijani national identity and, in some strands, political self-determination. Whole Azerbaijan is an irredentist strand within broader Azerbaijani national politics.
Azerbaijani language: A Turkic language spoken chiefly in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran, with distinct northern and southern varieties. Shared language is commonly cited as evidence of cultural ties across the state boundary.
Azerbaijani nationalism in Iran: Political and cultural advocacy concerning the rights, identity, and status of Iran's Azerbaijani population. Claims about Iranian Azerbaijan intersect with local movements whose aims vary and are not uniformly separatist.
Civic nationalism: A form of nationalism based on shared citizenship and political institutions rather than common ethnicity. It offers a contrasting basis for national belonging that does not imply ethnic reunification.
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic: The independent Azerbaijani state that existed from 1918 to 1920 in the South Caucasus. Its name and national claims informed later debates about which territories constituted Azerbaijan.
Irredentism: A political doctrine seeking to annex territory inhabited by people considered part of the same nation. It names the territorial logic behind claims to unite Azerbaijani-populated areas.