Parting the Black Sea (region): geopolitics, institutionalisation and the reconfiguration of European security

Abstract:

This article examines critically one of the most active regional dynamics of European security, centred on the Black Sea. Recently, the Black Sea region has received increased attention from a variety of political actors, who seek to increase the profile of the region in order to develop a common regional identity and an integrated approach to the security problems of the Black Sea region. This resurgence of the Black Sea region can be understood as the combined product of local interests, European integration and the 'global war on terror'. The main argument of the article is that Black Sea security integration is characterised by a fundamental contradiction between two different logics of security - geopolitical and institutional. Three other problems - transposition, fragmentation, and duplication - are also discussed. In the conclusion, the article examines the significance of the efforts to build the Black Sea region for the future of regional integration in European security.