2025 Theses Bachelor's

The Language of Displacement: Rethinking Legal Approaches to Hate Speech Through the 2023 Armenian Exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh

Azadian, Maria-Vera

This thesis examines the role of Azerbaijani state-sponsored hate speech in the 2023 forced displacement of over 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. It argues that government rhetoric functioned as a form of discursive coercion, shaping a hostile environment that contributed to the exodus without meeting international legal thresholds for incitement. Using a mixed-methods approach—HateBERT analysis, z-score tracking, and qualitative content analysis—the thesis identifies patterns of rhetorical escalation preceding military action.

Six recurring themes emerged: historical revisionism, glorification of violence, dehumanisation, appeals to territorial integrity, delegitimization of Armenian presence, and victimhood narratives. These findings highlight a gap in international human rights law which fails to address covert, or elite hate speech. The thesis calls for a reconceptualization of hate speech in legal terms, adding that sustained state discourse may function as a tool of coercion, exclusion, and ultimately, displacement.