Anchoring NATO’s eastern flank: A neoclassical realist analysis of Romania’s Black Sea policy and its strategic interaction with Turkey
[ 1 ] Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Pécs, Ifjúság, 7624, Pécs, Hungary
2025
artykuł naukowy
angielski
- Black Sea
- International security
- NATO
- Romania
- Russia
- Turkey
- Turcja
- Morze Czarne
- NATO
- Rosja
- Rumunia
- Współpraca międzynarodowa
EN This study addresses two specific objectives. First, it aims to examine Romania’s foreign and security policy towards the Black Sea region and explain how and why Bucharest’s position in regional power dynamics has changed over time. Second, it aims to describe how Romania’s and Turkey’s strategic perspectives on the Black Sea relate to each other. The paper employs a qualitative, theory-informed case study methodology to examine Romania’s foreign and security policy in the Black Sea region. This is complemented by a comparative foreign policy analysis to explore the relationship between Romania’s and Turkey’s strategic perspectives. Accordingly, the research design integrates both single-case analysis and paired comparison to capture the dynamics of strategic regional interaction. Using the theory of neoclassical realism, the paper describes Romania’s strategic initiatives in the Black Sea region, explains how structural and domestic influences have shaped Bucharest’s foreign and security policy, and examines the complex relationship between the regional strategies of Romania and Turkey, by identifying the common and divergent interests of the two states. Romania’s Black Sea policy has been shaped by both external variables—structural power dynamics affecting the region—as well as internal variables—elite perceptions and the shifting dynamics of domestic politics. The relationship between the Black Sea strategies of Romania and Turkey can be described as a mixture of convergence, rooted in common security interests, and divergence, fuelled by distinct threat perceptions, domestic political dynamics, and regional ambitions.
2025
1 - 20
CC BY (uznanie autorstwa)
otwarte czasopismo
ostateczna wersja opublikowana
30.09.2025
publiczny
70