Competing Geopolitical Interests of China, Russia and the United States in Central Asia and the Caspian Region

1. Nicholas J. Spykman (1893-1943), a Dutch-American geostrategist, developed a notable reinterpretation of Mackinder‟s geopolitical theory. Contrary to Mackinder, he put more emphasis on the concept of Rimland, which means that the great land and sea confrontation to establish world domination takes place near the Eurasian coast, not the Eurasian landmass.
2. St. Petersburg sought to secure an outlet to the Mediterranean in two different ways. The first was to gain control of the Balkans, which had been under Ottoman rule, the second to control the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, again under Ottoman rule. The Russian strategy was to wait for resentment at the domination of the Sultan to grow and then intervene in a subsequent war against Turkish domination. Once the resentment had spread, Russian forces would fight alongside the local populations, which the tsar proclaimed himself to be the protector of – the Slavs of the Balkans were mostly Orthodox like the Russians – to reverse the Ottoman occupation of their land, and then impose Russian control over the region. The Tsar‟s hostility toward Turkish rule was hardened by the war aims of the United Kingdom, France and Piedmont, which supported Turkey. Indeed, the Crimean War marked the end, for a while, of Russia‟s military expansion around the Black Sea and of Nicholas I‟s pseudo-religious claims in the Balkans.
3. Bohr, A. (2004), Regionalism in Central Asia: New Geopolitics, Old Regional Order, International Affairs, nº 80 (3), pp. 485-502; Ahrend, R., W. Tompson (2007), Caspian Oil in a Global Context, Transition Studies Review, nº 14 (1), pp. 163-87; Najman, B., et al. (2008), The Economics and Politics of Oil in the Caspian Basin. Routledge, London; Staniland, P. (2011), Caught in the muddle: America's Pakistan strategy, Washington Quarterly, 34(1) Winter, pp. 133-148; O'Hanlon, M., Riedel, B. (011), Plan A-minus for Afghanistan. In: Washington Quarterly, 34(1) Winter, pp. 123-132.
4. „OPEC Expects Oil Production in Azerbaijan at 1.12 mln bpd in the first quarter of 2011.‟http://www.pfmc.az/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=433:opec...
5. „BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2010.‟ http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/re...
6. Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/
7. Nye, Joseph (2002), Globalism Versus Globalization, The Globalist, Monday, April 15.
http://www.theglobalist.com/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=2392
8. Wu Lei, Liu Xuejun (2007), China or the United States: Which Threatens Energy Security?, OPEC Review, nº 31 (3), pp. 215-234
9. Downs E., Maloney S. (2011), Getting China to sanction Iran: the Chinese-Iranian oil connection, Foreign Affairs, 90(2) March/April, pp. 15-21.
10. Garver, J.W. (2011), Is China playing a dual game in Iran? Washington Quarterly, 34(1) Winter, pp. 75-88.
11. Blank, Stephen (2010) The Strategic Implications of the Turkmenistan-China Pipeline Project, Jamestown Foundation, China Brief, vol. 10, No. 3, February 4, pp. 10-12. http://www.jamestown.org/programs/chinabrief/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=...
28 Richard Rousseau
12. Swanström, Niklas, Norling, Nicklas, Li, Zhang (2007), The New Silk Road: Transport and Trade in Greater Central Asia, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, Johns Hopkins University, pp. 389-420. http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/publications/GCA/GCAPUB-12.pdf
13. Li, Hak Yin,Wang, Zhengxu (2009), China‟s Advancements in Central Asia, East Asian Policy, Volume 1, Number 4, Oct/Dec, pp. 5-13.
14. Temple, David (2007), The Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline, The Intersection of Energy and Politics, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), 2007.
15. Foster, John (2008), A Pipeline through a Troubled Land: Afghanistan, Canada, and The New Great Energy Game, Foreign Policy Series (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)), Volume 3 No. 1, June 19.
16. The Taliban movement in Afghanistan and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).
17. Dawisha, Karen, Parrott, Bruce (1994), Russia and the New States of Eurasia, The Politics of Upheaval, Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-22.
18. Brzezinski, Zbigniew (1997), The Grand Chessboard, American Primacy and it’s Geostrategic Imperatives, Basic Books, pp. 121-166
19. Boussena, S., Locatelli C. (2005), Towards a More Coherent Oil Policy in Russia? OPEC Review, nº 29 (2), pp. 85-105
20. Fumagalli, Matteo (2007), La dimensione strategica dell‟Asia Centrale tra Russia, Cina e Stati Uniti, ISPI Policy Paper (Institute for the Study of International Politics and Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Milan), No. 18, September, p. 4. http://www.ispionline.it/it/documents/wp_18_2007.pdf
21. Nanay, J. (2005), Russia and the Caspian Sea Region, in J. Kalicki y D. Goldwyn (eds.), Energy & Security. Toward a New Foreign Policy Strategy, Woodrow Wilson Center Press, Washington, pp. 127-147.
22. Sagers M. (2007), Developments in Russian Gas Production since 1998: Russia‟s Evolving Gas Supply Strategy, Eurasian Geography and Economics, nº 48 (6), pp. 651-98. 23. Scalea, Daniele, Iran e Russia: amici o rivali? Eurasia, rivista di geopolitica, March 26, 2010. http://www.eurasia-rivista.org/iran-e-russia-amici-o-rivali/3592
24. „Beijing and Moscow make the case for multi-polar global solutions,‟ Russia Today, March 24, 2010. http://rt.com/politics/beijing-moscow-global-solutions
25. Idem.
26. Swanström, op. cit., p. 392.
27. Madani, Amir, Russia: il cambiamento dei vertici in Kirghizistan, Limes, Revista Italiana di Geopolitica, March 21, 2010, http://temi.repubblica.it/limes/russia-il-cambiamento-dei-vertici-in-kir... Grazioli, trefano, Russia: le dinamiche del New Great Game, Revista Italiana di Geopolitica, March 21, 2010. http://temi.repubblica.it/limes/russia-le-dinamiche-del-new-great-game/1... 28. Aslan, Kursad (2007), U.S. Foreign Policy toward Central Asia: Institutions Matter, Allacedemic Research, February. http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/8/0/6/1/p1...
29. The White House (1995), A National Security Strategy of Engagement and Enlargement, February http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/nss/nss-95.pdf
30. Deutsch, J., Schlesinger, Victor D. (2006), Council on Foreign Relations (CFE), National Security Consequences of U.S. Oil Dependency, Independent Task Force Report, nº 58; Sandalow, D., Ending (2007), Oil Dependence, The Brookings Institution, Washington.
Competing Geopolitical Interests of China, Russia and the United States in … 29
31. Rousseau, Richard (2008), Main Factors Contributing to the European Union‟s Policy Towards the Black Sea Region, Caucasus and Globalization Journal, Vol. 2, Issue 1, 2008, pp. 20-31.
32. Dadwal, Shebonti Ray, IPI or TAPI for India‟s Gas? The Diplomat, May 4, 2011
http://the-diplomat.com/indian-decade/2011/05/04/ipi-or-tapi-for-india%E... Robert M Cutler, Iran gas pipeline to Pakistan on hold, The Asia Times Online, February 19, 2011 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MB19Df01.html
33. Bush, G. W., (2002), The National Security Strategy of the United States of America, Washington DC, September 20. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/national/nss-02092...
34. Fumagalli, op. cit., p. 6. 35. Dunn, Jonathan (2009), Rethinking American Strategy in Central Asia, Midwest Political Science Association 67, the Annual National Conference, March. http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/3/6/2/0... 36. It is worth pointing out that the Uzbek government refused to allow an international investigation of the causes and implications of the Andijan massacres in May 2005. Protesting against the government in Tashkent, many demonstrators from Andijan were beaten, imprisoned, and even killed by the Uzbek police and military forces. 37. Aslan, op. cit., p. 17.