'Middle-Class, Limited-Edition'? Middle Class Subjectivities in Urban Azerbaijan

Abstract

This article discusses the preliminary findings of an ongoing research project on the characteristics and dynamics of Azerbaijan's urban middle class. The aim of this article is to examine what 'middle class' means in the country currently when new westernized consumption practices and lifestyle aspirations meet traditional local values. Additionally, what is the social role that the new middle class plays in the country's development? Based on ethnographic data collected throughout 2016 in Baku, this contribution argues that the middle class identity is more than an interplay between the accumulation of material goods, education and occupation; middle-class belonging is also defined by linguistic identity and assumed modernity.