This brief article reviews a recently proposed scenario of moduli stabilization constructed in the
vicinity of a conifold locus in the complex structure moduli space. We discuss typical features of
moduli stabilization due to the logarithmic structure of the periods over the Calabi-Yau threefold.
Integrating out heavy moduli implies exponential terms in the superpotential very reminiscent of
non-perturbative contributions. Ultimately, these terms can lead to an alignment of axions poten-
tially realizing large-field inflation. Our goal is to investigate common issues appearing for moduli
stabilization near the conifold and subsequent applications to string cosmology. Even though this
setup needs to be understood as a toy model, a closer look at the validity of the effective theories
reveals characteristic obstacles, which are likely to occur in more serious scenarios as well.