A new course on “Geopolitics and Geoeconomics of the Caspian Sea Area” launched at Ca’ Foscari

On November 8 the first lecture of the course entitled “History of Asia” was held with a focus on the “Geopolitics and Geoeconomics of the Caspian Sea Area”. The course, which is taught by Prof. Carlo Frappi in English, is for the second-year students of the Philosophy, International and Economic Studies bachelor’s degree programme offered at Ca’ Foscari.

The course aims to offer a comprehensive picture of the dynamics characterizing the geopolitical and geo-economic landscape of the Caspian Sea area – i.e., the area encompassing the Southern Caucasus and Central Asia regions. By analyzing the dynamics of the post-Soviet transition and transformation processes unfolding in the Caspian area, the course pursues two essential and linked objectives: on the one hand, to provide useful tools for understanding the relevance of the Caspian area in the framework of the systemic post-bipolar transition; and on the other, to provide students with a perspective through which to evaluate the foreign and regional policies of the main actors active in the Eurasian space – from the United States to the European Union, from Russia to China, from Turkey to Iran. 

The course contributes to enlarge the Ca’ Foscari University’s educational offer on Azerbaijan and the Caucasus, which already includes courses entitled “Azerbaijan’s Contemporary History, Foreign Policy, and Economics”, “Archaeology of Anatolia and the Caucasus” and “Modern and Contemporary History of Caucasus and Central Asia”, which are respectively taught by Prof. Carlo Frappi, Prof. Elena Rova and Prof. Aldo Ferrari.