UKRAINE AND NEW SECURITY PARADIGM FOR THE WIDER BLACK SEA REGION

Abstract

Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine initiated in February 2022 serves as a definitive break in the security of the wider Black Sea region. This article first explains the problem the region is currently facing and calls for a new concept to ensure the collective West’s more active presence in this geographic area. The strategy should also involve measures to contain a more aggressive Russia. It will be argued that Russia is unlikely to abstain from further destabilizing the Black Sea region and will use more coercive methods to preserve its dominant position. The article begins with elaborating the idea of the Black Sea not as a space of competition, but as a space of economic cooperation. The Black Sea has not always been a region of economic and military divisions, but quite often served an interconnector of several intersecting regions with different cultures and economic models. The article then, drawing upon this short historical analysis, pays special attention to Turkey’s changing position and presents a set of political moves the West can pursue to improve its rather weakened position in the wider Black Sea region.