Splitting Water: The Geopolitics of Water Resources in the Caspian Sea

Abstract: Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the Caspian Sea has emerged as a potentially significant energy reservoir. The full utilization of the basin's hydrocarbon resources, however, has been slowed down by the disagreement on the legal status of the Caspian. By the early 2000s, the five coastal states—Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan—have yet to agree on a formula to divide the sea between them. A critical examination of the political and legal stance of each of the five littoral states as well as the U.S. position is crucial to understanding the geopolitical implications of the ongoing dispute with regard to sovereignty over the Caspian. Despite the absence of a legal agreement on how to divide the Caspian, a de facto regime that is likely to accelerate the exploration and development of the region's oil and gas resources is slowly emerging.