Constructive Competition in the Caspian Sea Region - 9781032039039

Taylor & Francis

The Caspian Sea region has hitherto largely been investigated from a `New Great Game\u2019 perspective that depicts the region as a geopolitical battle\u00ADground between regional and external great powers, where tensions have been exacerbated by the sea\u2019s rich natural resources, strategic location, and legal disagreements over its status. This book, by contrast, portrays a new image of the region, which still ac\u00ADknowledges the difficulties and problematic starting situation of power poli\u00ADtics there. It, however, seeks to show that there are ways forward by identifying mechanisms and means to transform the `New Great Game\u2019 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 h.