One nation, two states: No room for discord

The agreement signed in Nakhchivan on Oct. 3, 2009, laid the foundation for what is today the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). Two of the founding pillars at that table were Türkiye and Azerbaijan. This year, however, the organization’s anniversary arrived under the shadow of a social media wave aimed at turning these two brotherly nations against each other.

Yet the picture on the ground is the exact opposite of the one being painted online. Recent weeks have been among the busiest in bilateral relations.

The documents signed at the Türkiye-Azerbaijan Energy Forum in Baku showed that the partnership is expanding from oil and gas to electricity. A transmission line to Türkiye via Nakhchivan, the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Türkiye-Bulgaria Green Energy Corridor and a planned line running under the Black Sea to Europe are making the two countries indispensable partners in Europe’s energy security as well.

During Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit to Baku, which coincided with the anniversary of the city’s liberation, a broad agenda was discussed, from lasting peace in the South Caucasus to security cooperation. Afterward, Fidan described Türkiye and Azerbaijan as “two islands of stability” in a troubled region.

Then the defense ministers of Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Georgia met in Shusha and signed a protocol deepening military cooperation. Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov described the trilateral format as an important platform for regional stability and security in the face of rising global tensions. It is also meaningful that the meeting took place in Shusha, the city where, after its liberation from occupation, the alliance between the two countries was formally sealed.

Criticism, not hostility

It was precisely during this period that Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers updated the dress code for state schools. The regulation does not allow additional clothing items that disrupt the uniformity of the school uniform or are incompatible with the secular principle of education. Although the text does not explicitly mention the “headscarf,” the regulation has unfortunately turned into a headscarf ban in practice.

It is entirely understandable that Turkish society has reacted to this decision. This is a society full of people who paid a heavy price for past bans. The memory of girls turned away at school gates because of their headscarves is still fresh in this land. Seeing a similar picture emerge in a brotherly country was met with deep sorrow, and voicing that sorrow is perfectly natural.

However, the wave that rose on social media went far beyond legitimate criticism. It quickly turned into a campaign questioning the brotherhood between the two countries. Criticizing a decision is one thing; using it to sow discord between two nations is quite another.

Who benefits?

This is not the first time we have seen this picture. Türkiye’s Center for Combating Disinformation (DMM) already warned the public against provocative posts targeting relations between the two countries. In its latest statement, it announced that it had identified malicious content in some international media outlets and social media accounts targeting the “One Nation, Two States” understanding. The center described these posts as a clear perception operation aimed at damaging the deep-rooted relations between the two brotherly countries, and called on the public not to give credence to content designed for psychological warfare.

The method never changes: find a sensitivity, amplify it, and set two societies against each other. As algorithms reward outrage, a wave started by a handful of accounts soon begins to look like the voice of the public.

So who benefits from this? Among the actors who would welcome any rift between Ankara and Baku, Israel comes first. A falling-out between Türkiye, the loudest voice against the massacre in Gaza and a country that has upset Israel’s calculations in the region, and its strongest ally in the South Caucasus would be a golden opportunity for Tel Aviv.

At a time when the energy, defense and foreign ministers of Türkiye and Azerbaijan are acting almost as if they were a single country, it would be naive not to see Israel’s hand in the discord stirred up at this very moment. It is plainly evident that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the eve of an election, is trying to provoke a dispute through the soft underbelly of two brotherly countries in order to shore up his external fronts. Every word that runs against the spirit of “One Nation, Two States” whoever says it, plays straight into that agenda.

Responsibility of officials

The real responsibility therefore lies with officials in both countries. Not every wave of anger on social media reflects public opinion, but every wave left unanswered emboldens the next one.

Let us state one thing at the outset: no outsider has either the intention or the audacity to dictate anything to Azerbaijan. Like the people of Azerbaijan, we too believe that President Ilham Aliyev has no intention of punishing the headscarf-wearing relatives of the nearly 3,000 martyrs and nearly 15,000 veterans who liberated Karabakh together, and that he has the wisdom to thwart this Israeli sedition.

Ankara, for its part, should keep warning the public against disinformation. Politicians and opinion leaders, too, should refrain from conducting their domestic political debates through the internal affairs of a brotherly country. The task for ordinary citizens is simple: think twice before sharing a video of unknown origin or an unverified headline.

A bond woven from pipelines, power lines, shared defense, and a common history cannot be broken by a school regulation or even by a decision we consider wrong, as long as we do not fall into the trap of those who want to turn us against each other.