Published in association with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

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.

The systematic description of the knowledge accumulated on the physical oceanography, marine chemistry and pollution, and marine biology of the Caspian Sea forms the basis of this book. It presents the principal characteristic features of the environmental conditions of the sea and their changes in the second half of the 20th century. At present, the principal problems of the Caspian Sea are related to the interannual sea level changes and their forecast and to the estimation of the intensity of the chemical pollution of the sea and its impact upon the biota. Special attention is paid to socio-economic, legal, and political issues in the Caspian Sea region. This publication is based on numerous observational data collected by the authors of the chapters during sea expeditions, on the archive data of several Russian oceanographic institutions, as well as on the broad scientific literature mainly published in Russian editions. This book is addressed to the specialists concerned with research in various fields of physical oceanography, marine chemistry, pollution studies, and biology; solving a wide scope of problems from the regional climate to the mesoscale processes; and using a variety of methods from remote sensing of the seas to numerical and laboratory modeling.

No detailed description available for "Central Eurasian Reader".

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 region has hitherto largely been investigated from a `New Great Game’ perspective that depicts the region as a geopolitical battleground between regional and external great powers, where tensions have been exacerbated by the sea’s rich natural resources, strategic location, and legal disagreements over its status. This book, by contrast, portrays a new image of the region, which still acknowledges the difficulties and problematic starting situation of power politics there. It, however, seeks to show that there are ways forward by identifying mechanisms and means to transform the `New Great Game’ into processes of functional co-operation. Drawing on theoretical insights from a functionalist framework, this book examines three intertwined case studies, namely the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC), the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), and the Caspian Environmental Program (CEP). It shows that lessons learned from environmental co-operation have influenced the discussion over the uncertain legal status of the sea, which culminated in the signing in 2018 of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. This book analyzes the three phases of the BTC and the SGC projects: the planning of the pipeline, its construction, and its use, none of which have been adequately addressed yet. This book illustrates the increasing role of actors beyond and besides the states in the Caspian Sea region, such as transnational corporations, non-governmental organizations, and intergovernment organizations.

This volume is based on the presentations and deliberations of an Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) "Caspian Sea: A Quest for Environmental Security" that was held on March 15-19, 1999, in Venice (Italy). The Workshop was sponsored by the NATO's Division for Scientific and Environmental Affairs, with additional support provided by the Trust for Mutual Understanding (USA). It was organized by Duke University's Center for International Development Research with the guidance of the International Committee of scientists from Russia, United States. Georgia and Italy and organizational assistance rendered by Venice International University. The Caspian Sea region is of profound importance from the perspective of global and regional environmental security. New geopolitical and economic circumstances have created a mixture of competition. reluctant collaboration, and legal, political, economic and ideological wrangling. There is an intense debate over how the Caspian and its resources should be divided among littoral states and how these resources are to be developed. While most littoral states and the international companies strive to develop the area's immense hydrocarbon potential, it is clear that the Caspian's unique and fragile ecosystem is at risk.