Black Sea and the Caucasus Region; Causes of Instability and the Ways to Deal with Them

Year 2000, Issue: 30, 213 - 225, 01.05.2000

Mustafa Aydın

https://doi.org/10.1501/Intrel_0000000011

Abstract

Black Sea and the Caucasus Region; Causes of Instability and the Ways to Deal with Them

Abstract

The collapse of the Soviet Union has changed international system and put the nevvly independent states of the Caucasus Fırmly into geopolitical calculations, vvhich prompted disagreements, hostility, and possible armed interventions. In this context, this paper identiFıes the sources of unrest and threats to the stability of the Black Sea-Caucasus region. First, domestic sources of conflicts in the area, such as ethnic diversity, religious differences, economic inequality, and totalitarianism are explored. Secondly, the influence and foreign policies of number of countries active in the region are analysed, devoting particular attention to the attempts and inability of Russia to reconsolidate its povver and hegemony. Third, the legal quandary över the definition of the Caspian Sea's status and the controversy surrounding the issue of transporting its natural resources out of the region are explored. The environmental issues in connection vvith the oil exploration activities in the Caspian Sea is also taken up. Finally, mechanisms for diffusing at least some of the controversies and threats are discussed vvithin the context of the prospects avvaiting the region in the mid-to-long term.

Keywords

Caspian Basin, Ethnic Diversity, Caucasus, Great Game, Caucasian Stability Pac