Mirkamran Hüseynli is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Political Science at Vytautas Magnus University and Ernst Mach Research Fellow at RECET at University of Vienna. Alongside a B.A degree in American Studies at Baku State University, he has an M.A degree in East European Studies from University of Bologna, another M.A degree in Nationalism Studies from Central European University and a graduate non-degree in Conflict Resolution & Mediation from University of San Diego. He offered undergraduate courses – Political Theory and Modern World History – at the School of Public and International Affairs at ADA University in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2021-2022. He has also collaborated with various NGOs internationally and in Azerbaijan regarding peace-building and conflict resolution in recent years. Alongside his PhD studies, he was a CEES Fellow at Center for East European Studies at University of Zurich and Max Weber Stiftung fellow at the Leibniz Institute (ZMO) in 2024-2025. Until recently, he was Swiss Government Excellence Research Fellow (2025-2026) at the Institute of Anthropology at University of Zurich. His work has been published in Ethnicities, ASIAC – Studies on Central Asia and the Caucasus, Review of International Studies, Caucasus Edition: Journal of Conflict Transformation, and a Routledge edited volume.

Research interests:

• Ethnicity and Nationalism Studies
• Nationalizing-State
• Minority Identities
• Soviet and post-Soviet Studies
• South Caucasus
• Multiculturalism
• Civil Society
• Peace and Conflict Studies

Current research project:

Institutionalizing Nationhood: Nationalization, Homogenization and Assimilation in Contemporary Azerbaijan

In this research, Mirkamran examines nation-building, national identity, and minority identities in the case of post-Soviet Azerbaijan, critically engaging with the nation(alizing) discourses and policies of Azerbaijani governments since the country’s independence. Given Mirkamran’s interdisciplinary academic background, his PhD research likewise draws on multiple disciplines, including political science, history, sociology and social anthropology. His research intends to illuminate various factors shaping the nationalization and homogenization of Azerbaijani society throughout the Soviet and post-Soviet periods – processes that have particularly affected ethnic minorities. Building on his ethnographic contributions, Mirkamran further seeks to advance understanding of concepts such as the nation(alizing)-state, national minorities, external national homelands and inter-imperiality. 

Publications:

Book Chapters:

Huseynli, M., & Mutnansky, A. (2025). The evolution of Azerbaijani Talysh identity: Construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction across Soviet and post-Soviet eras. In V. Kopeček, M. Lepič, & L. Jelen (Eds.), Ethnicity and ethnic minorities in post-Soviet Eurasia (pp. 86–97). Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781003652885-9

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (Scopus / Web of Science):

Mutnansky, A., & Huseynli, M. (2025).Primordialism, perennialism, modernism and ethno-symbolism: The perception of homeland and identity among Azerbaijani Lezgins. Ethnicities, 25(5). 

Barberis, C. F., & Huseynli, M. (2025). The Breakup of Civil Society in Post–War Azerbaijan. ASIAC – Studies on Central Asia and the Caucasus (SCC), 2, 25–43. 

Barberis, C. F., & Huseynli, M. (2025). Obliged to hate: The successful stigmatisation of anti-war voices in Azerbaijan. Review of International Studies, 51(3), 431–448.  

Policy Articles:

Ghazaryan, F. & Huseynli, M. (2022) Armenian and Azerbaijani History-Textbooks: Time for a Change, Caucasus Edition| Journal of Conflict Transformation, Volume 5, Issue 1, 53-89