NATO'nun genişleme politikasının Rusya-Ukrayna krizindeki rolü

In the era after Cold War, the changing balance of power following the dissolution of the Soviet Union brought about fundamental structural changes, new security approaches, and debates in the globalizing international system. NATO, a military alliance established after World War II for common defense and security against the Soviet "threat", continues to expand to create a new mission and legitimacy for itself despite the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. This study emphasizes the role NATO's enlargement policy played in the Russia-Ukraine crisis in view of new security strategies and current developments that have emerged because of NATO's transformation process based on adapting to the changing international system in the post-Cold War. For this purpose, NATO's enlargement policy was studied considering the concept of security in international relations, taking into account its historical background, and has been evaluated using the Copenhagen School's securitization theory with the qualitative content analysis method, based on the new imperialism approach and changing security theories in the post-Cold War globalizing world. Within the scope of this study, NATO's enlargement policy is seen as a key indicator that played a crucial role in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, preventing the risks posed by security dilemmas from evolving into peace in line with the aim of containing Russia, let alone preventing the outbreak and escalation of conflicts. In the context of this main argument of the study, when we consider the steps taken by NATO in line with its enlargement policy, new security strategies, and military interventions, it becomes obvious that there is a strong direct relationship between NATO's enlargement policy and the fundamental reasons for the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Keywords: Copenhagen School; globalization; NATO's enlargement policy; Russia-Ukraine crisis; securitization theory; security strategies.