This volume examines the relationship between competition for energy resources and the propensity for conflict in the Caspian region. Taking the discussion well beyond issues of pipeline politics and the significance of Caspian oil and gas to the global market, the book offers significant new findings concerning the impact of energy wealth on political life and the economies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. The differing interests of ruling elites, the political opposition, and minority ethnic and religious groups region-wide are addressed. Chapters also explore the ways in which Russia, China, Iran, and Turkey are attempting to uphold their energy interests in the newly independent states, and the impact of competition for production contracts and pipeline routes on regional security. Chapters relate regional issues to central questions of international politics and to theoretical debates concerning the role of energy wealth in political and economic development worldwide, and policy implications are examined throughout the book.