Europa e China na Ásia Central: a questão energética III

2. The Geopolitics of Central Asia

Firt we must clarify what and where is Central Asia. Here we opt by a narrow approach: the former Asian Soviet Republics- Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyztan . However to understand deeper the core of this paper we shall, as well, take into account the Caspian litoral states, i. e. not only thee of the former Asia Soviet Nations (Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) but also Russia, Azerbeijan and Iran.
In 1989, the Iron Curtain fell and the bipolar world politics came to and end, giving place to an uncertain world order dominated miltary by the United States of America: unipolar with several multipola rsigns. From the ashes of the implosion the Soviet Union several new states emerged redrawing themap of Europe and Asia. The newly indepedent republics, hitherto under the control of Moscow, started to be coveted by the world powers, which aimed to fill the local power vacuum. Why is the Central Asia so atractive? First, geographically, it is a strategic area of communication and inteaction between six nations: China, Russia, Turkey, India and Iran. Second, it is an unstable and unsecure area wherein islamic fundamentalism and underdevelopment meet in a potential explosive melt. Third, and for our paper the most important issue, it is a source od startegic resources: natural gas, oil and coal. In addition, this region has advanced nuclear technology able to create nuclear stations and potentially nuclear weapons. Moreover, it has been feared that this zone can be a stockpile for proliferation of nuclear weapons or enriched uranium or plutonium. Outlining the major problems in the area, we face