Turkmenistan and the virtual politics of Eurasian energy: the case of the TAPI pipeline project

Anceschi, L. (2017) Turkmenistan and the virtual politics of Eurasian energy: the case of the TAPI pipeline project. Central Asian Survey, 36(4), pp. 409-429. (doi: 10.1080/02634937.2017.1391747)

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Abstract

In December 2015, leaders from Central and South Asia took part in the ground-breaking ceremony for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline project. Sixteen months later, a confusing information flow continues to obfuscate external assessments of the project’s development: official rhetoric notwithstanding, there is no certainty on the details of project financing, while the pipeline route has yet to be determined. To illuminate this obscure implementation path, this article regards TAPI as a virtual pipeline, an infrastructure project that wields invaluable influence only when it is employed as a foreign policy tool or permeates domestic discourses of progress framed by the elites of the four consortium partners. The constituent elements of TAPI virtuality are discussed here through a dedicated focus on the process of energy policy-making of Turkmenistan – the sole supplier of gas for the pipeline project and the consortium’s key stakeholder.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Anceschi, Professor Luca
Authors: Anceschi, L.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Central and East European Studies
Journal Name:Central Asian Survey
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:0263-4937
ISSN (Online):1465-3354
Published Online:13 November 2017
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 Southseries Inc.
First Published:First published in Central Asian Survey 36(4):409-429
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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