Geopolityka regionu Morza Czarnego a Unia Europejska

Abstract

The geopolitical rivalry and the clash of interests between the superpowers have been present in the Black Sea region for centuries. During the Cold War when the East-West divide was at its height, the Black Sea was “excluded” from geopolitical competition between the superpowers as it became the domain of mainly one player – the Soviet Union. The dismantling of the Pax Sovietica and the subsequent collapse of the Cold War gave rise to a new geopolitical situation in the Black Sea region. The former USSR was superseded by the Russian Federation and other political entities independent from Russia, yet having strong bonds with the region both in terms of geography and their political and cultural interests. These were new states like Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also former Soviet satellite states such as Bulgaria and Romania. In other words, the collapse of the USSR entailed the emergence of a new system of geopolitical power in the post-Soviet space.