ABSTRACT
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the newly independent republics of Central Asia around the Caspian Sea have drawn the world’s attention, primarily for the reasons of their expected abundance of energy reserves, and their strategic location between Europe and Asia. These factors became all the more important in the aftermath of the attacks of 11 September 2001 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the US. The ‘War on Terror’ that was subsequently unleashed made global dependence on Arabian Gulf oil reserves seem more problematic, and the new resources in the Caspian region and in Russia that much more attractive. In addition, the geographic position of the newly independent republics of the Caspian basin-bordering as they do Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, China and the Middle Eastbecame even more relevant. The increased sense of the risks arising from militant Islamic fundamentalism and ‘failed states’ brought the focus on these countries for security reasons that could not have been foreseen prior to 11 September. Thus, their importance at a political as well as an economic level seems assured for some years to come.
