The legal status of the Caspian Basin and energy security

The Caspian Basin has a geo-strategic and geo-economic importance due to its oil and gas resources which attracts the attention of global and regional powers. On one hand the countries of the ragion try not to compromise their sovereignity and freedom by taking the advantage of this wealth and increasing the level of welfare; on the other hand, the global powers try to remove the energy sources, deliver it to the world market and control the energy, no matter what these cost. The Caspian Basin was under the control of Iran and Russia, but with the collapse of the USSR, five states were allowed to utilize it. After that, the struggle for power in the Caspian Sea, began. The Caspian's legal statues and how it should be shared is not determined and these are the most important reasons for today's ongoing problem of sharing it. The inability to identify the status of the Caspian causes the inability to reach an adequate amount of the energy which exists in this region and also,to fail in achieving the desired manner of transfering to international markets. The ongoing conflicts in the region as well as the legal gaps and separatist movements affect the security of the energy and the transmission lines adversely. In addition to all of these problems, international actors follow the foreign policy in line with their ambitions, and that's why the Caspian Basin has remained in turmoil and unresolved issues. In this study it is mentioned about the Caspian energy and the problems caused by the sharing of this energy. Also it is refered about the policies and approaches of global and regional actors who wish to have authority in the region Keywords: Caspian Basin, International Law, Energy Security