Research Summaries

Back Russian and Iranian Naval Cooperation in the Caspian Sea

Fiscal Year 2019
Division Research & Sponsored Programs
Department NPS Naval Research Program
Investigator(s) Ostovar, Afshon P.
Sponsor NPS Naval Research Program (Navy)
Summary This study will examine Russian and Iranian strategic naval cooperation in the Caspian Sea region. Russia and Iran have had at times conflicting and overlapping interests in the wider Middle East as well as in the Caspian Sea region. However, given the increasing cooperation between both states in the Syrian conflict as well as more broadly in the strategic domain, Russia and Iran's interests appear to be growing closer. It is therefore worth examining in greater depth the nature of Russian-Iranian naval interests in the Caspian Sea, where those interests coincide, and where they might continue to differ. Better understanding this dimension of strategic cooperation between Russia and Iran will help form a more comprehensive picture of where the Russia-Iran relationship might be headed in the mid to long terms, and what effect it might have on the region. This study will more specifically examine the relative goals and interests of Russia and Iran in the Caspian Sea and how those factors have shaped how each side has approached cooperation with the other. Russia has been the dominant power in the Caspian Sea, but Iran has also sought a greater role there. Iran's regional ascendancy has so far been concentrated in the Middle East, but there is reason to believe that Iran's preexisting interests in the Caspian Sea will encourage it to seek a greater naval and security presence there in the future. How Russia responds to this, and whether such an expansion fits with Russia's interests or challenges them, is another theme that will be explored. Those issues will be examined and reported on by a team of experts from the Naval Postgraduate School's Department of National Security Affairs: Dr. Afshon Ostovar, a leading expert on Iranian military strategy and strategic decision making; Dr. Clay Moltz, a leading scholar on Russian strategy, security, and military affairs; and Dr. Emily Meierding, an expert on security, oil, and energy, particularly in the Middle East.
Keywords
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Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal