The State of Play - September 23, 2023

In this edition: Nagorno-Karabakh, Child poverty in America, UAW strikes, Greenwashing bans and my favorite chart of the week.

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Update on Nagorno-Karabakh

Source: The Economist

Earlier this week, Azerbaijani troops embarked on a mission to “restore constitutional order” in Nagorno-Karabakh. This resulted in the largest clash in the contested region since the 2020 conflict when Azerbaijan regained control of much of the surrounding area. Azerbaijan justified its latest military moves by citing recent landmine incidents that killed four troops and two civilians, claiming Armenia’s military was creating a “serious threat to regional peace and stability.”

Fortunately, this military activity was only a brief 24-hour assault before a(nother) ceasefire brokered by Russia was put in place. However, during this short period of fighting, at least 32 people were killed and another 200 were injured.

As part of the ceasefire, ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenia has maintained since 2021 that no official troops have been there) agreed to break-up, which could be the death knell to Armenia’s control over the territory. After the ceasefire, Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev concluded a speech to supporters on Wednesday with, “Karabakh is Azerbaijan,” raising a triumphant fist in the air.

On Thursday, Azerbaijani government officials met with representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh to discuss the situation in the territory and the current residents’ future outlook. Nothing concrete has been decided yet, but its safe to say that the ethnic Armenians in the region will not be pleased with Azerbaijani rule.

Azerbaijan is close to taking control of Nagorno-Karabakh (The Economist):

Azerbaijan now plans to “reintegrate” Nagorno-Karabakh, says Hikmet Hajiyev, a[n Azerbaijani] presidential adviser. But how this is supposed to happen without an exodus of the region’s Armenians is unclear. The government in Baku refuses to offer them any special rights or security guarantees. “It will be just like any other region of Azerbaijan,” says Mr Hajiyev. For the Armenians, that is hardly a comforting thought. Following three decades of bloodletting on both sides, they are more likely to leave than to live under Azerbaijan’s rule and risk discrimination and retribution.

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Child poverty in America

Earlier this month, the US Census Bureau released its annual report on poverty, income and health insurance for 2022. The most striking number was the Supplemental Poverty Measure for children.