Sociocultural Aspects of the Integration of the Caspian Macroregion as a Potential “Center of Power”

The aim of the article is to assess the state of the Caspian macroregion integration in the sociocultural sphere, identify barriers to the said sociocultural integration and prospects for its development. The authors consider the Caspian macroregion as a potential center of power in world politics, with a unique geopolitical position, hydrocarbon reserves, and developed transport infrastructure. Further development of the macroregion as a center of power is problematic without a certain level of sociocultural integration. The article presents steps towards integration of the educational, information, and cultural spaces of the Greater Caspian. Interpreting the results of an extensive field research conducted in four Caspian countries, the authors assess sociopsychological readiness to perceive integration, nature of intercultural communications, as well as possibilities for constructing a Caspian macroregional identity. The main barriers to the integration are institutional gaps, nature of center-regional relations in the countries, level of digital divide, weak cognitive motivation to obtain information about neighbors’ lives, and the weakening position of the Russian language in the region. A significant barrier is the competition of geopolitical projects, primarily the Great Turan. Scenarios for the development of the Caspian macroregion integration are presented. In the interest of development of a positive scenario there is a need for a systematic, comprehensive – including government structures and society of the entire Caspian five – coordinated work on the transition to a new level of integration, which would contribute to finding their place in the new multipolar world.