Through all stages of its political transition process and its regime change, nationalism has played an important role that has taken on different forms in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Early on during the Himmat party era, cultural nationalism planted the seeds for the development of Azerbaijani nationalism. During the Musavat party era, religious nationalism gathered a powerful revolutionary force for building an independent nation, and the world's first Islamic secular state, the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, was established. During the late Soviet Union era, the Popular Front of Azerbaijan took advantage of the opportunity to rally support for independence in the name of ethnic nationalism. However, it also lost power because of ethnic nationalism. This paper attempts to analyze the role of nationalism in different periods and its different forms in the political development of the Republic of Azerbaijan.