The Caspian redefines a Caspian debate long characterized by one-sided and politically motivated analyses and, at times, fantastic reporting. Bringing together a range of influential voices from academia, the media, the oil industry, civil service, the military and diplomatic corps, this book rewrites the region's recent history.

This book provides a unique level of coverage of economic and political events of global significance, including foreign trade, foreign direct investment, the impact of oil and natural gas finds, Islamic extremism, the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the reaction of the CIS countries and the war on international terrorism. It will provide an invaluable source of reference for all those interested in transitional and developing countries. The author presents a clear, detailed and accessible breakdown of the developments in the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) and the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Protecting human rights and promoting democracy are the Council of Europe's two main tasks. But to what extent do the 47 member states live up to their commitments in these two crucial areas? The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe tried to answer this questionin an unprecedented political debate during its April 2007 session. This first debate was attended by parliamentarians from throughout Europe, the main partners in the global human rights community - the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch - and the managers of the main Council of Europe monitoring mechanisms. The texts contained in this publication show that despite undoubted progress, Europe is still afflicted by serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, extra-judicial executions, torture and secret detentions, as well as shortcomings in democratic processes.