Event Summary
The Caspian Studies Program hosted a trio of events this fall that focused on the importance of the Caspian region -- particularly in light of the U.S. campaign against terrorism in Afghanistan.
President Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia addressed a packed house at the Kennedy School on October 3. Flanked by other high ranking Georgian officials, he spoke on "Searching for Security in a Changing World" before heading on to New York City to meet with Mayor Giuliani at the site of the World Trade Center attacks and to Washington, DC to meet with President Bush and Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz.
Graham Allison noted Shevardnadze''s decisive role in the fate of two countries, first as Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union from 1985-1991 and then as President of Georgia from November 1995 to the present.
A few weeks earlier the Caspian Studies Program hosted Nurlan Kapparov, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan for Energy Issues, formerly Vice Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources. Kapparov noted that Kazakhstan was the first former Soviet state to promise practical support to the U.S. war on terrorism, offering its bases for a potential strike on Afghanistan. Echoing the words of President Nazarbayev, Kapparov confirmed that "Kazakhstan is ready to support an action against terrorism with all the means it has at its disposal."
On October 15, the Caspian Studies Pro gram hosted a seminar with authors from the book project, "Culture and Foreign Policy: Islam and the Caspian Region."
Brenda Shaffer, Research Director of the Caspian Studies Program, and Markus Fisher of Pitzer College led the first panel discussion on "Culture and Foreign Policy: Are the Policies of Muslim States Different?" while
Gerard Libaridian of the University of Michigan, Douglas Blum of Providence College, and Yusuf Magdiev of Harvard''s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, led a discussion of the impact of the events of September 11 and the U.S. military response on the Caspian region.
Summaries, photos, and transcripts from these events can be found on the Caspian Studies Program homepage at http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/bcsia/sdi.