Profiting from prestige: the political economy of mega-events in Azerbaijan

Why do rentier states seek out hosting rights for major international events? This article investigates this question through a qualitative case study of mega-events programs in Azerbaijan. Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, hydrocarbon exports have formed the backbone of the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Laporte, J
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Palgrave Macmillan 2024
_version_ 1824458670702854144
author Laporte, J
author_facet Laporte, J
author_sort Laporte, J
collection OXFORD
description Why do rentier states seek out hosting rights for major international events? This article investigates this question through a qualitative case study of mega-events programs in Azerbaijan. Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, hydrocarbon exports have formed the backbone of the country’s economy and the main source of rents for ruling elites. Focusing on the development of Azerbaijan’s events industry in the 2000s and 2010s, the article uses available evidence and process tracing techniques to develop the hypothesis that Azerbaijan’s elites sought out hosting rights, at least in part, to diversify their sources of private rents. By problematising the direction of causality between mega-events and rentseeking behaviour, this analysis expands current theories on states’ motivations for hosting these events and contributes to existing understandings about how these proceedings serve to support and sustain rentier regimes.
first_indexed 2025-02-19T04:29:35Z
format Journal article
id oxford-uuid:318bd2aa-c2f1-49d6-8a84-7a29373d2c96
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2025-02-19T04:29:35Z
publishDate 2024
publisher Palgrave Macmillan
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:318bd2aa-c2f1-49d6-8a84-7a29373d2c962024-12-18T12:41:32ZProfiting from prestige: the political economy of mega-events in AzerbaijanJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:318bd2aa-c2f1-49d6-8a84-7a29373d2c96EnglishSymplectic ElementsPalgrave Macmillan2024Laporte, JWhy do rentier states seek out hosting rights for major international events? This article investigates this question through a qualitative case study of mega-events programs in Azerbaijan. Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, hydrocarbon exports have formed the backbone of the country’s economy and the main source of rents for ruling elites. Focusing on the development of Azerbaijan’s events industry in the 2000s and 2010s, the article uses available evidence and process tracing techniques to develop the hypothesis that Azerbaijan’s elites sought out hosting rights, at least in part, to diversify their sources of private rents. By problematising the direction of causality between mega-events and rentseeking behaviour, this analysis expands current theories on states’ motivations for hosting these events and contributes to existing understandings about how these proceedings serve to support and sustain rentier regimes.
spellingShingle Laporte, J
Profiting from prestige: the political economy of mega-events in Azerbaijan
title Profiting from prestige: the political economy of mega-events in Azerbaijan
title_full Profiting from prestige: the political economy of mega-events in Azerbaijan
title_fullStr Profiting from prestige: the political economy of mega-events in Azerbaijan
title_full_unstemmed Profiting from prestige: the political economy of mega-events in Azerbaijan
title_short Profiting from prestige: the political economy of mega-events in Azerbaijan
title_sort profiting from prestige the political economy of mega events in azerbaijan
work_keys_str_mv AT laportej profitingfromprestigethepoliticaleconomyofmegaeventsinazerbaijan