Reza Simbar; Keyvan Afsharian
Volume 26, Issue 109 , May 2020, , Pages 71-101
Abstract
A rise in the number of the Caspian Sea littoral states after dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of the 20th century and the significance of those areas due to the decline of ...
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A rise in the number of the Caspian Sea littoral states after dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of the 20th century and the significance of those areas due to the decline of the United States’ hegemony in the international system at the beginning of the 21st century have set the stage for the emergence of a new region called the Caspian Sea region. The Caspian Sea region is comprised of five littoral states, including a big power, a regional power, and three local powers. Considering that the region is situated in a zone where Asia connects Europe and which holds abundant resources, it has attracted the attention of trans-regional actors. Such growing attention may drive the future of the region into chaotic situation. This study seeks to find an answer to the basic question that “how is it possible to define the agenda for convergence in the Caspian Sea region?” To answer this question, a mixed research method -- two-stage exploratory research method -- was employed. In the first stage, library resources were used to assess the mutual security dependencies of the Caspian Sea regional states which would affect the process of convergence in the military, political, economic, social and environmental spheres. In the next stage, the extracted data was used to prepare the tools for a questionnaire, which was completed by a group of 24 people familiar with the regional issues. Ultimately, a quantitative analysis of the questionnaires have been conducted to separate the low politics from the high politics and propose an agenda of convergence in the Caspian Sea region.
