US energy diplomacy in the caspian sea basin: changing trends since 2001

This book is not a product of the author alone. It received intellectual and moral support from many people. First and foremost, my deepest appreciation goes to Ambassador (rt) Richard Kauzlarich, my mentor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, for inspiring and supporting me with his priceless words of encouragement. I would also like to express my gratitude to my institutional directors, who pro- vided me with the permission and support for my graduate education. I owe special thanks to Ambassador Matthew Bryza, for his comments, patience, and guidance during the topic selection phase of my research. I also wish to express my gratitude to all who helped me in more ways than they can imagine. I am grateful to Dr. Ed Chaw, who shared with me his ideas about my book. Special thanks to Dr. Houshyar Eimani Kalehsar, Dr. Masoud Imani Kalesar, Dr. Mehdi Solhi, Dr. Sayyad Sadri Alibabalu, Dr. Saeed Bagheri, Mehmet Öğütçü, Necdet Pamir, Dr. Fereydoun Barkeshli, Mo Dialami, and Dr. Nihal Akdere for encouraging and guiding me dur- ing the writing and publishing stages of my book. I would also like to express my gratitude to Bedrettin Dalan, Dr. Baris Dalan, Dr. Burak Dalan, Professor Ilyas Dogan, Dr. Bahadir Bumin Ozarslan, Professor Abdullah Temizkan, Dr. Metin Arikan, and Kenan Dogan for their support during my MA and Ph.D. studies and specifically for the scholarship provided for my MA studies at Yeditepe University in Istanbul, Turkey. The MA scholarship shaped my future academic and professional career as an energy diplomacy and energy security analyst. This study would not have been viable without their penetrating insights and intellectual feedback on a highly sophisticated array of factors that affected energy policymaking in the world energy market and US energy diplomacy. Lastly, I am eternally grateful to my brothers and sisters for instilling in me the values of intel- lectual pursuit and for my early training in intellectual debate. Thanks to all my friends for their understanding and support throughout.