This collection surveys the three South Caucasian states’ economic, social and political evolution since their independence in 1991. It assesses their successes and failures in these areas, including their attempts to build new national identities and value systems to replace Soviet-era structures. It explains the interplay of domestic and international factors that have affected their performance and influenced the balance of their successes and shortcomings. It focuses on the policies pursued by key regional and international actors towards the region and assesses the effects of regional and international rivalries on these states’ development, as well as on the prospects for regional cooperation and conflict resolution. Finally, it analyzes a number regional and international developments which could affect the future trajectory of these states’ evolution.

The change of the geopolitical realities and dynamics, the latest regional developments and the emergence of a new perception of security due to the new situation in Karabakh have changed current perspectives in the South Caucasus region. This book will provide a comprehensive introduction for students, academics, media representatives, business persons and those who are interested in the region. It will guide you through in a very readable and engaging style as it covers all the salient points and issues of the North Caucasus (the authonomous republics) succinctly and the South Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia) in detail. After the last development and Russian direct involvement in the Karabakh issue, the world’s attention has focused increasingly on the Caucasus region. Thus, THE CHANGING PERSPECTIVES AND ‘NEW’ GEOPOLITICS OF THE CAUCASUS IN THE 21ST CENTURY book will be an excellent introduction to the complexities of a little-known the Caucasus region and make a significant contribution to the understanding of fundamental issues of the region. As the editors, we would like to dedicate this book to the heroic Azerbaijani soldiers who were martyred during the struggle for the liberation of the Karabakh lands from the Armenian occupation.

The book provides a comprehensive understanding of the unfolding geopolitical changes in the South Caucasus in the age of increased great power competition across Eurasia. Recent research on the geopolitics of the South Caucasus focuses either on interstate relations among Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia or on each of regional actor’s (Russia, Turkey and Iran) ties with the region’s one or all three states. Little attempt has been made to see the region’s shifting geopolitical importance from a global perspective: growing US-China rivalry and shifting balance of power in Eurasia; recalibration of the US’ military and diplomatic vision in western Eurasia to adjust to the Chinese challenge. The book argues, from a theoretical point of view, that the increased competition in the region fits into the global pattern of unfolding great power competition, when military and economic calculations drive regional powers to increase their influence on immediate neighborhoods sidelining the collective West from the negotiating table and the emerging new security architecture.

This work explores the geopolitical struggles that are currently underway in the newly independent states of the Caucasus region, showing how many players in the region are coalescing into two opposing blocs. The growing political, military and economic ties amongst the countries of these two blocs stem from a number of developments in the region, most notably the fall of the Soviet Union, and consequently the end of the Cold War and its bi-polar global alliance structure. These blocs are competing for influence in the region, and the rights to exploit and transport the rich energy resources that have been found in the Caspian Sea. The text shows how many actors have been willing to co-operate in other non-energy related issues, in the hope of receiving a financial reward when countries do decide on these matters.

Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU's ambition to develop "strategic and ambitious partnership(s) based on common values and rules, mutual interests and commitments, as well as shared ownership and responsibility" (EEAS) in the countries of the Eastern Partnership has come under much pressure. Whatever remains of this ambitions in the South Caucasus has turned into a frantic attempt to re-define the EU's role in this new geopolitical scenario. This collection focuses on Armenia and Georgia as the two "frontline" countries in which the beneficial role of the EU and the supposed commonality of values are being questioned most rigorously. Using the perspective of authors from the region, this volume offers unique insights into the debates and perceptions of the EU's involvement in the South Caucasus.

We are in the midst of an energy revolution, led by the United States. As the world’s greatest producer of natural gas moves aggressively to expand its exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), America stands poised to become an energy superpower—an unanticipated development with far-reaching implications for the international order. Agnia Grigas drills deep into today’s gas markets to uncover the forces and trends transforming the geopolitics of gas. The boom in shale gas production in the United States, the growth of global LNG trade, and the buildup of gas transport infrastructure worldwide have so transformed the traditional markets that natural gas appears to be on the verge of becoming a true global commodity. Traditional suppliers like Russia, whose energy-poor neighbors were dependent upon its gas exports and pipelines, are feeling the foundations of the old order shifting beneath their feet. Grigas examines how this new reality is rewriting the conventional rules of intercontinental gas trade and realigning strategic relations among the United States, the European Union, Russia, China, and beyond. In the near term, Moscow’s political influence will erode as the Russian gas giant Gazprom loses share in its traditional markets while its efforts to pivot eastward to meet China’s voracious energy needs will largely depend on Beijing’s terms. In this new geopolitics of gas, the United States will enjoy opportunities but also face challenges in leveraging its newfound energy clout to reshape relations with both European states and rising Asian powers.

By combining perspectives from experts in domestic politics, regional politics, and specialists in international security, this edited volume focuses on the central role of energy production and supply in the Russian-Western completion across Eurasia.

Iran’s role as a regional power is more significant than many in the West may realise. The country lies between Central Asia/the Caucasus and the Gulf region on the one hand, and, on the other, between the Mediterranean/Levant region and South Asia. Many of these areas are of increasing strategic importance. This book explores Iran’s role as a regional power, focusing on relations with South Caucasus countries - Azerbaijan and Armenia. It outlines the historical context, including Persia’s rule of these countries before the nineteenth century, and discusses Iran’s approach to foreign and regional policy and how both internal and international factors shape these policies. The book assesses Iran–Azerbaijan and Iran–Armenia bilateral relations to demonstrate how those policies translate in Iran's regional and bilateral relations. The book concludes by considering how Iran's relations in the region are likely to develop in the future.

In this cogent introduction to the state of contemporary geopolitics, Short provides an understanding of the basic themes of geopolitics and an overview of geopolitical issues around the globe. His regional approach to the study of the power relations between states is framed by a discussion of critical and popular geopolitical analysis.

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.