Lorne W. Craner, President of International Republican Institute (IRI), named Azerbaijan among the possible countries that might be influenced by the events in the Middle East.
Craner, who recently had a testimony at the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs said: "Much has been made of the consequences of recent events in the Middle East for the rest of the region. We would be remiss if we did not look further a field. What happened in Tunisia – where economic modernization that mainly benefited metropolitan areas was accompanied by political repression and worsening corruption – may hold clues to the future of nations with similar situations in other regions, such as Kazakhstan or China, and less well run autocracies, such as Azerbaijan and Venezuela".
“It is important, when we necessarily have relations with authoritarian governments, to plan for the day when they may no longer be in power, and to cultivate and assist those who may replace them. We must also supplement our focus on personalities by working to build institutions that will make future transitions less difficult. This is a realistic approach – a type of insurance – to safeguarding U.S. interests in the long term," IRI President noted.
“In Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, for example, the Bush Administration assiduously cultivated and aided the next generation of leaders, resulting in democratic – and, because of our efforts, pro-American – figures replacing authoritarians," he said, Turan agency reported.
