Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has been ongoing for decades. Displacement has been a constant facet of this reality. Both Armenians and Azerbaijanis have been cleared from the area on numerous occasions, displaced from their homelands, and forced to rebuild from nothing. This report examines Azerbaijan’s Great Return program and the aftermath of the 2020 War and Azerbaijan’s recent takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023. Both events prompted the resettlement of Azerbaijani IDPs into regained territories and led to large-scale reconstruction efforts. This reconstruction has been highly controversial both for criticisms of being inefficient, marked by corruption, and indifferent to local needs and requests, and for its destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in the region.

The Great Return is a massive undertaking coordinated by the Government of Azerbaijan. It largely began following the end of the 2020 War when Azerbaijan took over seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh (Aghdam, Kalbajar, Lachin, Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, and Qubadli) and approximately one-third of the region itself. This included historically significant cities like Shusha, a major cultural and symbolic center in the region. The Azerbaijani government divides the Great Return into three phases: 1) rebuilding infrastructure, including damaged electricity and gas lines, 2) building houses and essential facilities like schools, hospitals, clinics, kindergartens, and social service establishments, and finally 3) the relocation of IDPs into the region.