home << newsletters << May 2003 index << Caspian Sea Basin Security Conference
 

Newsletter:  May 2003/ Issue 4
Conference Explores Caspian Sea Basin Security Issues

On April 29-30, the Caspian Sea Basin Security conference took place in Seattle at the University of Washington’s (UW) Waterfront Activities Center. The objective of the two-day event was to explore US policy options for enhanced regional stability in the Caspian Sea Basin, and the potential for regional cooperation in the areas of energy, nuclear nonproliferation and terrorism.

The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), a Seattle-based policy research organization, organized the conference. Co-hosts were the US Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute; the UW’s Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies program at the Jackson School of International Studies; and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security (PNWCGS).

There has been vast interest in the Caspian Sea region since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The sea, bordered by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia, and Turkmenistan, is the world’s largest inland body of water, and is believed to possess oil reserves comparable to those of the North Sea. However, there has been very little development of these resources due to conflicting claims on the part of the littoral nations over ownership of the sea’s resources, disagreement over which export route should transport reserves to the world market, and concern that issues of governance could lead to regional instability, further impeding the market and political reforms that would enable exploitation of the sea’s reserves.

Active participants in the Caspian conference consisted of recognized practitioners, members of the research community, and academics, including members of the UW’s Joint Institute for Global and Regional Security Studies. Attendees were primarily from the US government and private sector.

Herb Ellison of the UW’s Jackson School provided the opening remarks for the conference. Ambassador Steven Mann, US Department of State Senior Advisor for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy, gave the keynote address, “Emerging Conflicts: The Strategic Significance of the Caspian Sea Basin.”

Four discussion panels were held during the event: “Regional Perspectives on Military and Economic Security;” “Strategic Security and Military-Economic Dynamics;” “US Influence and Central Asia’s Strategic Transformation;” and “US Policy Options for Influencing Caspian Basin Strategic Stability.” Specific topics addressed by the panels included short-term conflict of interests between oil and gas, and geopolitical security entities; scenarios for the Caspian region’s future; relations between Russian and Iran; various regional power issues that might alter US positioning in the Caucasus and Central Asia; and the challenge of applying oil and gas revenues effectively and for the betterment and advancement of the entire region rather than the enrichment of a powerful few.

Besides serving as an opportunity to draw upon the insight of many experts, the conference was part of an endeavor, on the part of its local hosts, to draw recognition to the Asia policy and security expertise existing in the Pacific Northwest.

“Seattle is seen as a locus of growing interest in Asia issues and PNWCGS wants to make sure that the Lab is involved,” stated Kristi Branch, who coordinated PNNL's role in the conference. "In addition, such outreach and dialogue with organizations in the region is a vital component of the PNWCGS mission."

This sentiment is shared by Gael Tarleton, Director of Eurasia Policy Studies at NBR, who spoke of the “critical mass” built by NBR and other regional organizations, expressing satisfaction with local interest and involvement in foreign policy and adding that this conference is anticipated to be the first of a tradition of annual Asia policy conferences to be conducted by NBR.