Energy and Conflict in Central Asia and the Caucasus

By Robert Menon

Book Overview

This timely study is the first to examine the relationship between competition for energy resources and the propensity for conflict in the Caspian region. Taking the discussion well beyond issues of pipeline politics and the significance of Caspian oil and gas to the global market, the book offers significant new findings concerning the impact of energy wealth on the political life and economies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. The contributors, a leading group of scholars and policymakers, explore the differing interests of ruling elites, the political opposition, and minority ethnic and religious groups region-wide.

Placing Caspian development in the broader international relations context, the book assesses the ways in which Russia, China, Iran, and Turkey are fighting to protect their interests in the newly independent states and how competition for production contracts and pipeline routes influences regional security. Specific chapters also link regional issues to central questions of international politics and to theoretical debates over the role of energy wealth in political and economic development worldwide. Woven throughout the implications for U.S. policy, giving the book wide appeal to policymakers, corporate executives, energy analysts, and scholars alike.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0742500632
• ISBN13: 9780742500631
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

The best source on Central Asia oil policy

For those who want to understand why Central Asia has been fought over in recent history Rajan Menon provides an invaluable tool. This book goes region by region utilizing the best authors in each. The book covers the individual countries in the Caspian regions as well as the future prospects for Russian and OPEC interaction there. It clearly lays out how the region has been developing and although a little dated at this point it still provides an excellent foundation. The authors that contribute are the best in their fields and Menon organizes the book very well. Highly recommend if you are interested in oil policy.