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.
Griffin Cornwall examines the role played by Turkey in supporting Azerbaijan in the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and how this impacts the defence relationship between Turkey and Canada.
An analytical commentary by Robert M. Cutler, Director of the Energy Security Program, titled “Where does energy fit in the new military clashes with Armenia?“, was published on 28 July 2020 by the independent News.Az Online News Agency As is well known by now, in mid-July new military hostilities erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia. They Read More…
Ever since it gained independence from the USSR in 1991, Georgia has had an excellent relationship with NATO. In 1994, Georgia joined the NATO-run Partnership for Peace. This was the first step of a long journey for Georgia to become a member of NATO. In 2008, the Russian Army invaded parts of Georgia, which it Read More…
In this article, James Cho argues that the first step of understanding a nation’s behaviour is to understand its interest. He suggests that the the U.S’s changing strategy towards the Middle East is an example.
The energy security of NATO members in Europe will receive a further boost as the European Union has opened a new Delegation in Turkmenistan. This Delegation supersedes the lower-level liaison office through which relations had been conducted up until now. The move follows the European Council’s adoption of a new “EU Strategy for Central Asia,” Read More…
European energy security, especially the diversification of sources of supply of natural gas, increasingly depends on the South Caucasus countries of Georgia and Azerbaijan. Russia is building the NordStream Two and TurkStream pipelines in order to secure European Union (EU) dependence on Russian gas for decades to come. Because of its unique geographical situation, Georgia Read More…
This article is an end-of-year review looking at the EU’s and Turkey’s position in three potential maritime conflict situations: first, the Caspian Sea basin; and then the Black Sea and East Mediterranean basins together. The most significant development in Caspian Sea energy in 2018 was the signature of the Convention on the Status of the Read More…
Thirty years after the “Satanic Verses” controversy, the transnational threat to freedom of speech and the press is more acute than ever. The recent murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi – likely orchestrated by Saudi Arabia – is a case in point. So far, the pressure has been on Washington to punish Saudi Arabia, but Justin Dell argues that this issue is too combustable to be left to bilateral relations. What is needed is a broader multilateral approach, first to holding Saudi Arabia responsible for Khashoggi’s murder, and then to uphold the universal values of freedom of speech and expression. Only then can some kind of justice be obtained without risking the further destabilization of the Middle East.
On the Editor’s Forum, program editors at NAOC continue their case-by-case examination of different areas of the globe and identify their respective security contingencies. In this instalment, the Eastern Mediterranean is the region being reviewed.