ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the goals and policies of major actors together with a summarized history of their post-Cold War involvement in the South Caucasus. It argues that the ‘balance of power’ and ‘security maximization’ are two main goals of the players in the region. The chapter demonstrates the importance of energy resources and transit routes in exacerbating rivalry between various actors/players, and the way these actors manipulate regional dynamics to achieve their goals. South Caucasus, once a closed and forgotten area within the former Soviet Union, became “crowded with different kind of international actors, ranging from international organizations and states to multinational corporations” following the end of the Cold War. As one of the oldest oil-producing regions of the world, the Caspian Sea has been an important source of energy and, as such, gained a particular importance for the global energy security.
