Energy Security

Euro-Caspian Energy Security and Geoeconomics

Download: Energy Security Program Research Brief No. 1 December 2020
(12 pages, 303KB)

Title: Euro-Caspian Energy Security and Geoeconomics
Author: Robert M. Cutler
Series: Energy Security Program Research Brief No. 1
Date: December 2020

This edited transcript of a 40-minute podcast interview (1 November 2020) covers the Caspian Sea’s legal regime, national interests of its littoral states, Turkey’s role in Euro-Caspian energy security, American and Chinese interests in the region, and why the Caspian Sea’s significance will increase still more in future. The Caspian Sea is a unique body of water in the centre of Eurasia, bordered by Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan. If you zoom out from the Caspian Sea, you get eventually Siberia, you get China, you get India (although the Himalayas in the way), you also get the South Caucasus, and you even get over to the Black Sea. Thus, although it seems a bit remote and isolated on the map, when regarded from some distant parts of the world, it is in fact a very important region, to the great powers in the area, and even to the United States and the European Union, especially because of its energy resources.

Author

  • Robert M. Cutler

    Robert M. Cutler earned his doctorate at The University of Michigan after receiving two Bachelor's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After over a dozen years in leading universities in Canada, France, Russia, Switzerland and the United States, he expanded into policy analysis and consulting as an Energy Security and Geo-economics Specialist. He has over 20 years' experience in international energy diplomacy: advising energy firms, governments, international institutions and NGOs; framing policy and research issues and leading teams to address them, and producing briefings and analytical bulletins. He has published scores of refereed academic articles, policy articles and book chapters. He is Fellow, Canadian Energy Research Institute; Fellow, Canadian Global Affairs Institute; and Practitioner Member, Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation, University of Waterloo. He is fluent in English, French and Russian. He can be reached at rmc@alum.mit.edu and tweets from @RobertMCutler.

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Robert M. Cutler
Robert M. Cutler earned his doctorate at The University of Michigan after receiving two Bachelor's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After over a dozen years in leading universities in Canada, France, Russia, Switzerland and the United States, he expanded into policy analysis and consulting as an Energy Security and Geo-economics Specialist. He has over 20 years' experience in international energy diplomacy: advising energy firms, governments, international institutions and NGOs; framing policy and research issues and leading teams to address them, and producing briefings and analytical bulletins. He has published scores of refereed academic articles, policy articles and book chapters. He is Fellow, Canadian Energy Research Institute; Fellow, Canadian Global Affairs Institute; and Practitioner Member, Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation, University of Waterloo. He is fluent in English, French and Russian. He can be reached at rmc@alum.mit.edu and tweets from @RobertMCutler.