Analysing the Black Sea geopolitics in terms of Russia and NATO in the post-cold war period (1990-2018)

It can be seen that The Black Sea region which has gained significance in the Post-Cold War era, has become a stage for the primary actors of the international politics for power struggles. Due to its geopolitical location, Black Sea has been a place where struggles of superiority have always been an issue for centuries and after the USSR collapsed, it is observed that the Russian Federation (RF) that does not strive for losing its power over the region while NATO was aiming for filling the power gap in the area. The region which contains significant geopolitical constituents or its proximity to those, draws attention in the Post-Cold War era and possesses abundant natural resources and economically important trade ports. Besides these constituents, another primary aspect which emerges as one of its key factors of its geopolitical importance is that Black Sea is an important energy and transportation corridor. Its proximity for the areas which are utmost important for war on terrorism in the post-9/11 era is essential for NATO to be able to seek passage to these regions when required. By sustaining its growth in Post-Cold War era and taking advantage of the former-Soviet states which are close to the West, especially of those have a coast access to the Black Sea, NATO gained a significant advantage over the region. On the other hand, RF assesses the region by security remarks and keeps its eye on the region. Because of that, RF interpreted NATO's actions as hostility and shaped its policies over the region accordingly. It is possible to say that RF shaped its policies for the survival of the state and strived for maximizing its power by any means necessary in the context of Realist paradigm. NATO's activity in the region where RF sees as its habitat (Lebensraum), brought the struggle to another level by maintaining its policies via divers means and various methods. The hybrid war constituents in the Russian intervention in Ukraine showed how determined RF is when threatened. In the perspective of regional security, it is possible to say that these struggles destabilize the region which involves Turkey as well and creates a challenging environment enriched with risk factors for the future.