Eurasia's Shifting Geopolitical Tectonic Plates

EURASIA’S SHIFTING GEOPOLITICAL TECTONIC PLATES IS A COLLECTION of writings on geopolitics and energy politics in Eurasia by the American academic and writer Alexandros Petersen, who died tragically on 17 January 2014 in a Taliban attack in Kabul. The book, published in the ‘Contemporary Central Asia’ series at Lexington Books, conveys an impression of Petersen’s ability to combine perceptive analysis with empirical insight. Given the paucity of analyses on and lack of Western strategies towards Central Asia in particular, his writings represent a much needed and welcome contribution. Most chapters are very brief and written with a journalistic flair. Petersen’s explicit aim was to provide succinct policy analyses rather than lengthy academic treatises. The brevity of the chapters should therefore not come as a surprise, as this is a collection to celebrate his scholarship as a prolific writer and passionate traveller rather than a sustained book-length analysis of geopolitics in Eurasia. * Europe-Asia Studies *
This collection of articles, essays, and interviews provides important insight into a part of the world that has been often misunderstood, with global consequences. Alexandros Petersen was a young scholar with knowledge and wisdom beyond his years. We are fortunate to have this body of work to inform us and to help shape future policy. -- Minouche Shafik, London School of Economics
This is a wonderful collection of writings on energy geopolitics and Eurasia by a remarkably talented and well-traveled observer. Alexandros Petersen brought passion and keen insight to issues that demand far more attention from Western policymakers. -- Theo Farrell, University of London
Alexandros Petersen was well on his way to being one of the leading scholars of twenty-first century international relations, not just as an academic but as someone who engaged with the world around him. He had that essential mix of drive, intelligence, and compassion that made him not only an impressive scholar but also a genuine friend. This volume is a fitting tribute to him, his scholarship, and his ideas. -- Michael Sulmeyer, Harvard University
Alexandros Petersen understood the good things that could result when the United States is constructively engaged in the world, especially in seemingly distant lands. His work helped build the case for US interests in places many Americans would consider distant lands. He presented eloquently the negative consequences that result when the United States disengages, ceding influence to those who neither share our values nor our interests. Today more than ever we should heed his cautions and follow his advice on how to shape a better world by building stronger partnerships. -- Damon Wilson, Atlantic Council
Alexandros Petersen was a truly original thinker, and a truly unique person. This volume captures the breadth of his interest and expertise and serves as a poignant reminder of a life cut tragically short. -- Samuel Charap, International Institute for Strategic Studies
Alexandros Petersen's work combines the passion of youth with the wisdom of scholarship to give us hope for the future. His relentless curiosity and energy, his gift for geopolitics, and his love for the regions he wrote about will inspire a generation of young scholars. -- Margarita Assenova, The Jamestown Foundation
Alexandros Petersen can be counted among a unique group of scholars who not only sought to interpret the world but to change it. His dedication and passion for political freedom and the construction of a post-imperial world impregnated his work and his life. -- Janusz Bugajski, Center for European Policy Analysis
Alexandros Petersen made significant and lasting contributions to the Woodrow Wilson Center's European programming as a Public Policy Fellow, an alumnus of its Southeast Europe Project, an advisor to the Global Europe Program, and a driving force behind its European Energy Security Initiative. We miss his scholarship—celebrated in this remarkable book—his entrepreneurial and adventurous spirit, his humor, and his grace. They remain an inspiration to all of us. -- Christian Ostermann, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
This is a magnificent collection of works by Alexandros Petersen, a gifted and precociously experienced expert on the Caucasus and Central Asia. I am grateful to the fate that I came across this remarkable person and managed to become friends with him. It is a pity that our friendship was cut short as his life ended tragically. -- Archil Gegeshidze, director of The Levan Mikeladze Foundation and former ambassador of Georgia to the United States
Alexandros Petersen was a singular intellect and an entrepreneurial thinker, unique in his generation of emerging geopolitical strategists. At an early stage, he combined a romantic reverence for an earlier era of great power realpolitik with perspicacious insight into the future of a region perilously overlooked. In this volume, which highlights his prolific contributions in a tragically short period, his voice emerges—relevant, scholarly, illuminating, mordant, and provocative—and offers readers a glimpse of extraordinary potential, not only as a visionary thinker, but as a captivating leader. -- Joshua Marcuse, Young Professionals in Foreign Policy
This is a powerful collection of writing from someone who exemplified the value of getting out into the world and coming to know it deeply, rather than being content to stay in a Western capital and claim to understand complex events observed from afar. I am sad that I never had a chance to get to know him, but I know I can still turn to his writings to help us understand this dark and dangerous age. -- Ryan Evans, Center for the National Interest, and Editor-in-Chief of War on the Rocks
Alexandros Petersen possessed a wise mind for such a young man, reinforced by consistently strong issue analyses. Now that his work is available to all in this distinguished anthology, policy planners in Washington and worldwide will better know the prescient mind of this true analytical talent. He departed this life far too young, and his insightful policy work will long resonate with practitioners and scholars of geopolitical strategy in Eurasia and beyond. -- John Sitilides, former chairman, Wilson Center Southeast Project