The aim of this paper is to analyze the barriers to economic integration of Caspian Sea countries ‒ specifically the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Georgia ‒ and suggest solutions. A literature review is used as a methodology for conducting...

Biographical note: Brenda Shaffer served as Research Director of the Caspian Studies Program at Harvard University from 2000 to 2006. She currently teaches political science at the University of Haifa.

"The Saudi royal family and Aramco leadership are, and almost always have been, motivated by ambitions of long-term strength and profit. They use Islamic law, traditional ideology, and harsh justice to maintain stability and their own power, but underneath the thobes and abayas and behind the...