TOWARDS THE BUILDING A WIDER BLACK SEA REGION SECURITY SYSTEM: CHALLENGES, MECHANISMS, STRATEGIC APPROACHES

Abstract

Perestroika and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union caused severe social disturbances and challenges to national security in almost all newly formed states of the post-Soviet space. The weakened power of Moscow reenergized ethno-political conflicts in the Caucasus (Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Chechnya) and provoked separatism in Moldova (Gagauzia, Transnistria), exacerbated interethnic contradictions in Central Asia. Post-Soviet ethno-political conflicts, that is related to the issues of political self-determination of ethnic groups, were entirely concentrated in the region called the wider Black Sea region, which, in addition to the coastal states, includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, and also some Balkan countries. The high conflict potential of the wider Black Sea region, combined with its absolute geostrategic significance, predetermined the importance of the region for the interests of such key actors in contemporary international relations as NATO and the EU, acting as a united political player, and the Russian Federation. Turkey plays a special role in the region, skillfully balancing between the interests of the collective West and Russia and promoting an independent agenda.