The liberation of Azerbaijan's territories after nearly 30 years of occupation  and the restoration of territorial integrity have created new realities for the future socio-political landscape of the country.

 

It is no secret that all the leading players on the political scene of Azerbaijan today (the ruling political force and its main opponents) have been brought to the fore by the Karabakh issue.

 

The failures in Karabakh were precisely the cause of Azerbaijan's three power transfers between 1990 and 1993. At the time, the decisive role in the socio-political tone of society was played by the retention in power of any political force that promised success in solving the Karabakh problem and was able to convince them of this.

 

The government drew conclusions from the fate of the preceding forces. By acting more skilfully it managed to secure a mutual ceasefire agreement and consolidate its power for the long term period after the military failures it faced in the first period of being in power. However, until the start of the Second Karabakh War this factor did not solve the problem of political and moral legitimacy of the power that remained unchanged during the past 27 years. It is for this reason nearly 20 elections held in the country while the New Azerbaijan Party was in power were falsified without exception and the society's free choice was not trusted.

 

The authorities tried to justify the stifling of democracy in the country, the elimination of free media, civil society, and alternative political forces with the fact that the country was in a state of war and that the Karabakh problem continued, and it mobilized all propaganda resources to reflect this opinion in public opinion. The main argument instilled in public opinion was that the implementation of democratic political reforms and the establishment of freedom of speech and expression would open a wider field for the separatist tendencies that brought forth the Karabakh problem and would weaken the country. In short, the power and political agenda of the 27-year-old government was formed on the subject of Karabakh. The popular saying "the country has such a big burden as Karabakh!" was purposely introduced for this reason.

 

A similar approach has been applied to alternative political forces with different arguments. So, the political agenda of the opposition was formed mainly on the subject of Karabakh. Undoubtedly, the fact that public opinion perceived the territorial integrity of the country as the number one problem could not but affect the propaganda and program of alternative political forces. However, the opposition could not form a public opinion that Azerbaijan's very deep political, demographic, socio-economic, and environmental problems were as important as the Karabakh issue. In the last three decades, the leading topic of political struggle and polemic in the country was the Karabakh issue, and the public perception and discussion of all other fundamental problems remained very dull.

 

The fact that the current government ended the occupation and ensured Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Karabakh eliminated the main political argument of the government and alternative political forces. A whole political era has come to an end for the forces created by the Karabakh issue, as well as for the forces that have been standing for nearly 30 years. However, the main ideological identity of both ruling and opposition political forces continues to be nationalism and statism, which is the main political fodder for strengthening authoritarianism.

 

We believe that in such a reality, emergence of new political forces with a different agenda is necessary for the future of the country. The new agenda can be conditionally called the "Post-Karabakh Agenda". The leading elements of this agenda should be strategic issues such as the rejection of extreme statist political thinking, which is the fuel of authoritarianism in the country, the transition to a modern democratic political system, the restoration of trust in public administration and electoral system, the elimination of acute imbalances in interregional development through the provision of decentralization and the transformation of regions into livable spaces, the elimination of the sources of income inequality of political origin and endemic corruption, the reduction of the damage caused by climate change, especially to agriculture, as much as possible, and the development of a quality standard of living. After some time, the post-Karabakh period will be followed by the post-oil period, and this stage will create serious socio-economic problems for Azerbaijan. In this regard, the issue of sustainable economic development should be one of the leading elements of the "Post-Karabakh Agenda".

 

In order to achieve the goals listed above, as founders, we declare that we have created the III Republic Platform.

 

The center of gravity of our activity will be the formation of public opinion on the fateful issues of the country on the basis of active participation aimed at ensuring fundamental rights and freedoms.

 

With this statement, we invite everyone who shares the same goals as us to actively participate in the work of the Platform.

 

Our mission on this journey is: to ensure the transition from a governed society to a self-governing society. We are sure that this mission will win the sympathy of our progressive citizens and lead society to progress!

 

At the end of every darkness, there is definitely a light: let's walk together toward the light - the future!

 

Without a doubt, one day the light of truth will shine!