Globalization, Geopolitics and Energy Security in Central Eurasia and the Caspian Region by Mehdi Parvizi Amineh (review)

469 Ab Imperio, 4/2005 Charles C. KOLB Mehdi Parvizi Amineh, Globalization , Geopolitics and Energy Security in Central Eurasia and the Caspian Region (The Hague: Clingendael International Energy Programme, 2003). 254 pp. Bibliography , Index. ISBN: 9-05031-085-0. As a consequence of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, eight independent states were formed in Central visionary of the mid-1980s and the dogged optimist of the early 1990s, unwilling to acknowledge stormclouds on the horizon. For example, Gorbachev discusses the future of socialism in sunnily abstract terms: “From an ideology that at one time was solely based on class we should create a ‘meta-ideology,’ enabling a constantly increasing number of people to find a common language. The socialist idea, thus, could become global humanism” (P. 156). Gorbachev also mentions the European Union as a potential source of enlightened global leadership – and does not sully his vision by deigning to notice the cost in blood of the EU’s dithering as Yugoslavia imploded (Pp. 186-187). Finally, and most tellingly, when Mlynár muses over the damage he might have done his country, Gorbachev not only absolves his friend of guilt, but refuses to share his regrets. Gorbachev admits to being troubled by the distance Russia has traveled since his reforms, but states “I would do it all over” (P. 199). Gorbachev’s seemingly willful blindness makes Russia’s frustration with him more understandable. And yet he is not without insight. His comment, for example, that the old Cold War categories will probably become more important before they finally fade, certainly applies to today’s international situation, even though he applies it only to the former East (Pp. 144-145). So, too, the way he describes his own current status as a public figure: “in the political sky there are many stars of various magnitudes, …giving off different kinds of light. There is also room there for my star” (P. 212). Perhaps. But whatever Gorbachev’s political future, Conversations with Gorbachev is an intermittently fascinating opportunity for readers to be the proverbial fly on the wall, listening as two of Europe’s most important twentieth-century reformers contemplate the fate of their reforms, the inherent difficulty of political moderation, the possibility of a moral politics, and the future of social democracy. 470 Рецензии/Reviews sources in Central Eurasia and the Caspian Sea region in the post-Cold War era. Further, he offers informed insights and presents a baseline for this dynamic region as of 2002. Mehdi Parvizi Amineh is an Associate Fellow at the CIPE; Senior Research Fellow, International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden; and serves as lecturer at the University ofAmsterdam and the Amsterdam School for International Relations. He is author of several books, including Towards the Control of Oil Resources in the Caspian Region (2000) and Central Eurasia in Global Politics: Conflict, Security and Development [with Henk Houweling] (2004). The 11 chapters in Globalization, Geopolitics and Energy Security are complemented by four maps, seven figures, ten tables, and a variety of references (421 item bibliography, 40 newspapers, and 26 Internet sites). I shall summarize and critique the main points of each chapter prior to an overall assessment. “Chapter 1: Rethinking Geopolitics in theAge of Globalization” provides the theoretical background and reflects Amineh’s refreshing rethinking of traditional geopolitics (particularly global trade, production , and investment) and he postulates a new analytical framework he calls “critical geopolitics” or “neo1 British Petroleum Statistical Review of World Energy. See: http://www.bp.com. Last time consulted: 5 August, 2005. Eurasia (CEA), causing a dramatic change in the geopolitics of the region. Five of these states are in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), and three in the South Caucasus (Armenia,Azerbaijan and Georgia). Hence, political control of the Caspian Sea region shifted from two states (Russia and Iran) to five (Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, andTurkmenistan).The five littoral states have an estimated 14.6 percent (1,050.0 BBbbl) of the world’s total proven oil reserves and nearly 50 percent (5476.7 tcf) of the world’s total proven natural gas reserves.1 Central Asia and the Caspian Sea region have become...