To compete and thrive in the 21st century, democracies, and the United States in particular, must develop new national security and economic strategies that address the geopolitics of information. In the 20th century, market capitalist democracies geared infrastructure, energy, trade, and even social policy to protect and advance that era’s key source of power—manufacturing. In this century, democracies must better account for information geopolitics across all dimensions of domestic policy and national strategy.
Recent events in the proximity of the Caspian region, not least the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the campaign against Al Qaeda, have elevated the importance of this part of the world to the United States. Once seen as a remote backwater, it is now a crucial arena for the foreign policy manoeuvrings not only of the United States but of other regional and international players, notably Russia, China, and Iran. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and in particular the escalation in international terror after September 11, 2001, the power balance between these states has been in flux, and U.S. Caspian policy has had to evolve to cope with these changes. This seminar considers how the U.S. engagement with the Caspian region has developed, how the United States currently perceives the region, and what drives U.S. towards the region.
Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.