Khazar University Department of Political Science and International Relations

The Institute of Politics is an independent, nonpartisan institution committed to public policy research, analysis and education. The Institute (formerly the Center for International and Strategic Studies) has a primary objective of contributing to improving the performance of public institutions in Azerbaijan and the quality of public policy through cultivating regular interaction between policymakers and scholars to analyze issues and offer practical approaches for addressing those issues. The Institute holds conferences, seminars, workshops and panel discussions with various public officials, diplomats and scholars as well as various student-oriented workshops, such as annual crisis simulation exercises and annual moot courts. It has offered resources including speakers, visiting and resident fellows, study groups and internships. Example activities:

• In May 2010, an OSCE Model Conference was organized by Khazar University and OSCE Office in Baku, bringing together students from about 15 Azerbaijan universities.
• A group of students of Khazar University won the competition conducted among Azerbaijani universities for participation at OSCE Simulation Model Conference. Students of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences attended the OSCE Model Conference in Vienna in 2008.
• In 2006-2007 organized a series of crisis simulation exercises, conferences and workshops on various issues of contemporary international relations as well as on different topics in political science.
• Two-day Modeling Azerbaijan's Future: Examining Trends,Exploring Opportunities conference took place on June 18–19, 2005. The conference attracted around 60 scholars, practitioners and students of public policy, government executives and civil society leaders. Concrete policy recommendations were offered to various institutions and agencies. The program consisted of several panels and roundtables on political development, economic development, foreign policy and public diplomacy, identity and nationalism. Workshops developed policy recommendations and shared with the larger audience.

• The second annual Crisis Simulation Exercise was held on April 30, 2005, involving 70 students from four universities in Baku. Teams of students from Khazar University, Baku State University, Azerbaijan State Economic University, and Baku Slavic University mock-representing National Security Councils (NSC) of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Russia, Turkey and the United States in a role-play game to solve an imaginary crisis in the South Caucasus. Each "NSC" consisted of a President, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Security, Minister of Defense, and Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs. Several other states as well as major international organizations were "represented" by one person. "Mass media" highlighted the developments during the exercise. The working language was English.
• From November 22–26, 2004, Khazar University Institute of Politics held its First Annual Executive Education Workshop Doing Policy Analysis: How to Tackle Policy Problems in Azerbaijan. This workshop was conducted under the auspices of the Eurasia Foundation/ Azerbaijan and the US Embassy to equip government and public sector executives and analysts as well as faculty and students with tools to handle problem identification, policy formulation and decision-making issues. 25 government executives and policy analysts, NGO managers, junior faculty and advanced students from Azerbaijan and Georgia participated. Participants applied various methods in policy analysis through analyzing case studies and developing their own policy analysis project.