A Diplomatic History Of The Caspian Sea

In a series of short stories that both inform and amuse, this book transports the reader across the windswept shores of the Caspian Sea and provides a provocative view of the wars, peace, intrigues, and betrayals that have shaped the political geography of this important and volatile region. The demise of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the eclipsing of the old Iranian-Soviet regime of the sea have given rise to new challenges for the regional actors and unprecedented opportunities for international players to tap into the area's enormous oil and gas resources, third in size only behind Siberia and the Persian Gulf. This book explores the historical themes that inform and animate the more immediate and familiar discussions about petroleum, pipelines, and ethnic conflict in the Caspian region.

In a series of short stories that both inform and amuse, this book transports the reader across the windswept shores of the Caspian Sea and provides a provocative view of the wars, peace, intrigues, and betrayals that have shaped the political geography of this important and volatile region. The demise of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the eclipsing of the old Iranian-Soviet regime of the sea have given rise to new challenges for the regional actors and unprecedented opportunities for international players to tap into the area's enormous oil and gas resources, third in size only behind Siberia and the Persian Gulf. This book explores the historical themes that inform and animate the more immediate and familiar discussions about petroleum, pipelines, and ethnic conflict in the Caspian region.

The Caspian Sea has been the focus of states and peoples in and out of the area for the last decade. The surrounding states are interested in getting a decent share of the lake's resources. The industrial states are interested in taking the oil, gas and other natural wealth of the Caspian Sea to world markets as soon as possible. The populations of the littoral states, which are all ruled by undemocratic regimes, are concerned with whether their governments will retain their just rights in the Caspian Sea. They realise that the highest priority for their current rulers is to keep their grip on power, not their nation's present or future interests. How have the respective governments in Azerbaijan, the Federation of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and especially, Iran, thought and acted in regard to the situation of the Caspian Sea and their interests? The issue has a special reference to Iran because it is experiencing a terrible situation in regard to the Caspian Sea due to the poor management of its foreign policy and international relations. Iran will end up with the smallest share of the Caspian Sea, whether it likes it or not. This is a serious setback for a country that once shared the Caspian Sea with the former Soviet Union. Iran's mismanagement of its Caspian Sea rights is a political and diplomatic lesson in what not to do. This book gives everyone, even those without legal or political backgrounds in this issue, an opportunity to survey the facts and history; and to analyse the legal and political realities of the present political situation of the world's largest lake.

Reflecting the particular concerns of each of the Caspian countries, this book offers a unique perspective on the prospects and priorities for long-term development round the Caspian basin.

Published in association with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Stuck in the middle of different as well as relevant regional complexes, the Caspian Sea basin represents a critical geopolitical hub in the heart of Eurasia landmass. Political, economic as well as strategic considerations contribute to determine the systemic relevance of the Caspian Sea, whose reputation in the West is mainly linked to the vast availability of largely untapped oil and gas resources. However, behind the fierce competition aimed at the exploitation and transportation of the basin’s hydrocarbons lies a much more complex picture, consisting of interlinked legal, military and soft power issues and threats. Aim of the volume – result of a joint research project conducted by the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SAM, Baku) and the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI, Milan) – is to address the relevance of the Caspian Sea in the post-bipolar international system, analyzing both soft and had security threats emerging form the basin, as well as the policies of littoral and extra-regional actors.

The Caspian Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean are two regions with abundant energy resources. Their gas routes to Europe intersect and actors, exporters, pipeline owners and operators, transit states and downstream customers are connected to one another in a web of political and economic interdependencies. More significantly, these regions have been plagued by deep-seated ethnic conflicts and disputes: namely, the two oldest registered in the United Nations (the Cyprus and the Arab-Israeli Conflicts), the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, the Syria War and numerous tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caspian Sea and the Balkan regions. This book investigates what impact these energy resources have had on the respective conflicts and disputes, as well as their influence on the power game between the EU and Russia.