The collapse of the Soviet Union and its totalitarian system has resulted in instability and conflict among its many ethnic groups. In this volume, a distinguished group of scholars from the Russian Center for Strategic Research and International Studies examines the ethnic conflicts roiling Central Asia and Transcaucasia today--the roots and dynamics of these conflicts, their possible consequences, and the possibilities for resolution. The analyses are based upon extensive field studies, interviews, local press accounts, and other sources unavailable in the West. The work presents an inside view of the conflicts, describes the forces involved, and provides a prognosis for future developments in the region.

The demise of the Soviet Union, and the emergence of independent republics in its wake, have had profound implications for the regions on its periphery. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Caucasus and Central Asia. The essays in this book explore the complex ways in which these republics have found both independence and a new regional identity in their relations with the neighbouring Middle East. Religion, hydro-carbons, transportation needs and ethnic relations with the Gulf States have been rediscovered by the new republics, the study of which provides the basic subject matter for the book. The interests and activities of other regional powers are not excluded, with particular attention being given to the playing out of Russian, Turkish and American interests in countering the perceived rise of political Islam in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

This book sets out to examine why the world regards the Gulf as important. Chapters either treat the way in which individual countries view their vital interest in the Gulf, or deal with specific themes such as the question of militarization and the international arms-trade. The book makes the point that different countries and continents are conscious of possessing a variety of practical interests in the region: for some, the Gulf represents a market for manufactured goods; for some a field of expatriate labour; for some a source of oil; and, for the Superpowers, an area of conspicuous political and strategic importance. This last topic, closely linked as it now is with changes in Eastern Europe and the former USSR, is analyzed at some length in this collection.