Constructive Competition in the Caspian Sea Region

The Caspian Sea region is portrayed as a geopolitical battleground in this book,but it also shows how functional cooperation can be promoted. Three case studies,including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline,the Southern Gas Corridor,and the Caspian Environmental Program,are used to demonstrate how environmental cooperation has influenced the debate over the sea's legal status.

Format: Hardback
Length: 190 pages
Publication date: 20 May 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The Caspian Sea region has been extensively studied from a "New Great Game" perspective, which portrays it as a geopolitical battleground between regional and external great powers, exacerbated by its abundant natural resources, strategic location, and legal disputes over its status. This book presents a fresh perspective on the region, while acknowledging the challenges and complex power politics present. It aims to demonstrate that there are opportunities for progress by identifying mechanisms and strategies to transform the "New Great Game" into processes of functional cooperation. Drawing on theoretical insights from a functionalist framework, this book examines three interconnected case studies: the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC), the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), and the Caspian Environmental Program (CEP). It demonstrates that lessons learned from environmental cooperation have influenced the discussions over the uncertain legal status of the sea, culminating in the signing of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea in 2018. This book analyzes the three phases of the BTC and SGC projects: planning, construction, and utilization, which have received inadequate attention thus far. Furthermore, it highlights the growing role of actors beyond and outside the state in the Caspian Sea region, including transnational corporations, non-governmental organizations, and intergovernmental organizations.

Weight: 530g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032039039