Arash Toupchinejad Society, Culture, and Security

Trouble in the Caucasus – The Roots of Iran’s Tensions with Azerbaijan

One year after the Nagorno-Karabakh war, regional security in the South Caucasus is once again at risk. This time, Iran and Azerbaijan are at odds as the countries exchange words and flex their military might in drills across their shared border. In this article, Arash Toupchinejad highlights the root causes of the increasingly sociopolitical dispute and how it could have significant implications for NATO.

Energy Security

Euro-Caspian Energy Security and Geoeconomics

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.

NATO and Canada NATO Operations William Lloyd

NATO’s 70th Anniversary

When the Treaty of Brussels was signed on August 25, 1948, the world was, geopolitically speaking, a strikingly different place.  Just three years prior, Germany had signed its unconditional surrender, officially ending a war that left upwards of 60 million killed. When informed by advisors that Soviet forces were a day’s march from Berlin, Hitler Read More…

Dr Robert M Cutler Energy Security

Momentum Accelerates for the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline

Momentum accelerated over the past month pointing towards the implementation, sooner rather than later, of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TCGP). Already last summer the signature of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea established that neither Russia nor Iran would be able to block the construction of the pipeline. This even confirms Read More…

Canadian Armed Forces Isabelle Ava-Pointon

Divvying Up the Caspian Sea

The recently-signed Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea has the potential for far-reaching effects, both in the region and throughout Europe. The way this decades-old dispute was solved With security, energy, legal and economic issues at play, it is important to understand what has been resolved, and what is still at stake.

Culture Iran Iraq ISIS Sivan Ghasem Society, Culture, and Security The Middle East and North Africa Uncategorized

Iranian interest in Iraq and ramifications on NATO

In this article, Sivan Ghasem highlights Iran’s role in Iraq and the current umbrella of militia’s that operate under Iran’s direction. She underscores the measures of hard and soft power executed by the Iranian regime and how this could effect relations with NATO.

Dr Robert M Cutler Energy Security

The Caspian Convention and Caspian Energy

The authoritative text of the Convention on the Status of the Caspian Sea (Caspian Convention), signed August 12 in Aktau, Kazakhstan, is now available. After 23 years of negotiations, skepticism seems to be an influential trend in interpreting the Convention’s significance. It is easier for an expert to say, “Oh I didn’t expect such progress,” Read More…