| This research examines the political-economic and military activities of three major powers, the United States, China and Russia, in the Caspian region, comprising the nation states of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan, since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The activities of these three powers have been guided primarily by resource and strategic needs, and they have had a significant effect on the uneven development of the Caspian states. The interests and actions of the three powers have frequently come into conflict with each other, and the responses of the individual Caspian states have varied widely. The research uses Harvey's concepts of the spatial fix and accumulation by dispossession and Arrighi's concept of hegemonic decline and conflict to understand the uneven development of this region. |
