Dr. Agshin Umudov

E-Mail: aumudov1984@zedat.fu-berlin.de

Dissertation Title: Environmental Governance in Azerbaijan: Oil Pollution and GHG Emissions

Agshin Umudov had been a PhD Student at the Otto– Suhr Institute for Political Sciences, Free University of Berlin. In his PhD research, he looked at two different environmental policy approaches in Azerbaijan---one towards the question of greenhouse gas emissions and the other towards oil pollution in the Absheron Peninsula. He argues that the Azerbaijani government addresses both issues differently. Put differently, his dissertation explains Asymmetric Environmental Policy in Azerbaijan. He investigated the problem through lenses of the theories/assumptions of path dependence, rentier state, non-decision (un-politics) making, pursuit of external legitimacy, international pressure and urban public goods.

He gained an MA in Global Studies from the University of Leipzig/Germany and MSc in Peace and Conflict Research from the Uppsala University/Sweden. He holds a BA in International Relations from the Qafqaz University/Baku. Before starting his PhD at the Otto– Suhr Institute for Political Sciences in 2012, he worked as a research assistant at the Department of European Studies and International Relations of Qafqaz University in Baku. 2012-2013 he worked as a project assistant at Renewables Academy (RENAC AG) in Berlin for the “TrEff –Training in Energy Efficiency” project, financed by German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to support energy efficiency initiatives in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and the Ukraine. He has done internships at the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry in Baku, the International Strategic Research Institute/USAK in Ankara, the International Network of Engineers and Lawyers for Global Responsibility in Berlin.

Publications

Forthcoming (2021). Asymmetric Environmental Governance in Azerbaijan: Oil Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Heidelberg: Springer.

2020, Nigar Muradkhanli and Agshin Umudov. Green Movement in Azerbaijan. In Miranda Schreurs and Elim Papadakis (3rd edition), Historical Dictionary of the Green Movement. Rowman and Littlefield: London.

November 2019, “Europeanization of Azerbaijan: assessment of normative principles and pragmatic cooperation”. In Olaf Leiße (Eds.), Politik und Gesellschaft im Kaukasus. Eine unruhige Region zwischen Tradition und Transformation. Springer VS: Wiesbaden.

2015, “Energy Security and the Strategic Eclipse: where to place the Caspian Basin?” In Johan Landgren, Olja för Blåbär Energi, Makt Och Hållbarhet (Oil for blueberry: Energy Market and Sustainability). Lidingö: Fri Tanke förlag.

2014, Dictionary of Energy Terms, Qafqaz University Press, Baku, Available at http://ebooks.azlibnet.az/book/SFmnup41.pdf

2013, “EU’s energy policy: importance of the Caspian region”. In Giray Saynur Bozkurt (Eds.), Blue Black Sea: New Dimensions of History, Security, Politics, Strategy, Energy and Economy. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholar Publishing.

2011, “Outbreak of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia: a comparative glance”, Journal of Qafqaz University, Issue 30, 2011, pp.77-86.

2010, “Foreign Investment and Political Regimes: the Oil Sector in Azerbaijan, Russia, and Norway”, Book Review, Journal of Central Asian and Caucasian Studies (JCACS), Vol:5, No:10.