With the global rising energy demand, the Caspian region will be one of the most important geo-political areas of the 21st century. In the context of the current restructuring of the international political economy, this book concentrates on two main aspects of the post-Cold War era: the post-Soviet geopolitics of Central Asia and Caucasus, and the contemporary conflict and cooperation between regional powers, Western powers, and transnational corporations around the Caspian region's energy resources.