8
Furthermore, the rapid growth of a regional energy industry, the landlocked nature
of the Caspian region, and externalities arising from environmental pollution require the
Caspian littoral and neighboring countries to enter cooperative regional and subregional
arrangements to gain from mutual agreements and solve the problems of “market failure.”
All these trends need be accounted for understanding the political economy of the Caspian
resources. Thus, I believe that the Caspian political economy is not only represented by the
struggle for power between nation-states but it is also characterized by a more complex set
of relationships between non-state actors and new agenda of issues, which I plan to
examine in this project.
THE COMPETION AND CONFLICT IN THE CASPIAN REGION
Global Level: The US, Russia, China, Iran and Turkey
The Caspian has become a chessboard for Russia, the United States and China. Russia
remains the main player in the “Caspian Oil Game.” It controls the existing oil pipelines
through the Black Sea and wants to restore its political influence by providing military
security and economic cooperation to the countries of Central Asia and Caucasus within
the framework of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States).
The United States has been active in promoting democracy and free market
economy since the collapse of the Soviet Union. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US
established military bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The U.S. geopolitical interest in
the Caspian also aims at containing the Iranian influence and fostering independence of the
Caspian countries from Russia. U.S. companies have already made huge investments into
the Caspian. According to an assistant secretary of energy in 2000, David Godwyn, since
1995 companies have made $90 billion in capital expenditures to explore the region and
spent $5-$10 billion dollars in developing projects. He notes, “In the United States
Department of Energy and in the administration, we want to both promote and protect
those investments” (Senate Hearings, 2000: 3). The current presence of the U.S. military
bases in Central Asia as a part of the international military campaign against terrorism
strengthens the U.S. position in the Caspian.
Convention