ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes a new analysis that sheds light on the role played by socio-technical networks, the actors enrolled within them, and in the development of regional cooperation. The development of the Caspian Hydrocarbons Transportation Complex System (CHTCS) in the 1990s gave Azerbaijan the opportunity to get closer to the European Union (EU) and the United States. Exemplifying the East-West Energy Corridor, it demonstrates how a producing and transit state can take advantage of its position within socio-technical networks to become a regional leader. The chapter considers that Azerbaijan holds the role of an actant within the CHTCS, and that this role helps it to develop its economic and political influence in the Southern Caucasus and in Turkey. Finally, the shift of the CHTCS from oil-dominated to gas-dominated routes has helped Azerbaijan expand regionally, on both the political and economic levels.
