Rivalry on the regional energy sources and Turkey

In this study, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War and the process of transition to unipolar world, the rivalry of the players who aim acquiring the rich energy resources of Central Asia and Caucasus, controlling the pipelines that will transfer these resources to international markets is examined. Inspired from the 19th Century struggle between British Empire and Russian Empire in Central Asia , hence named as the ?New Great Game?, the special features, main elements, geography and the peculiarities of the domain of this new power struggle differentiating from its predecessor is studied under the headline of ?The Center of The Rivalry: Central Asia and Caucasus?. Why and how regional and global players? pay attention to this oil and gas rich region is put forth for consideration with additional use of statistical data. The problems that will occur while transferring these resources to international markets, ethnical problems, Caspian Sea?s legal status and the dependence to Russian Federation energy export routes are considered in the context of energy security as the main elements of this struggle. In the second part of the study, the players of the rival parties are analyzed in two separate classifications as states and big oil companies; giving place to Turkey in the third and last section. Under the headline of ?The Players of The Rivalry?, all players? strategies, projects and wins-losses are discussed. Turkey?s status in Central Asia and Caucasus, its relations with regional countries, Russia and Iran, in the context of its policy of foreign affairs, and hence its place in the rivalry is explained in the last section. In this last section Turkey?s energy policy in the Central Asia and Caucasus is examined in great details. The concrete or eventual projects, arising from its strategy of energy and the projection of its energy needs are discussed. Finally, the study is ended with the examination of the activities that Turkey is carrying out in the Caspian energy basin. In this study, books, articles, research reports, technical magazines, newspapers and internet sources were utilized by using a descriptive research method. Key Words: Energy, Energy Resources, Energy Security, Caspian Energy Basin, New Great Game, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC), Oil and Gas Transportation, Pipelines, Energy Exportation Routes, Turkey.