Russia’s Foreign Policy in the Great Mediterranean: Prospects and Constraints

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Doctor of Political Science, Head of the Political Sciences and Foreign Relations Department of Sevastopol State University, Crimea, Ukraine

2 Assistant Professor of the Theory and Practice of Translation Department, Sevastopol State University, Crimea, Ukraine

Abstract

After 2014 Russia is seen powerful enough again to influence the Mediterranean region and change the passive defensive policy, practiced after the USSR’s dissolution, for active one. Analysis of attempts to squeeze Russia out of the Black Sea region shows the main strategies elaborated in the early 2000s by the leading US thinktanks.
After 2014 Russia is seen powerful enough again to influence the Mediterranean region and change the passive defensive policy, practiced after the USSR’s dissolution, for active one. Analysis of attempts to squeeze Russia out of the Black Sea region shows the main strategies elaborated in the early 2000s by the leading US thinktanks.
Authors give the geopolitical landscape of the region: 26 countries are classified into powers (actors) and objects for the realization of national interests of the former. Special attention is paid upon Turkey, Greece, Israel, France, Italy and Spain (with Gibraltar issue). The processes and balances that define Russia’s geopolitical interests in the Mediterranean region are seen in interconnection with the intentions of military and political leaders of the region detached on the basis of the geopolitical methodology. A variant of the “Russian balance” is offered as prospective to realize Russia’s national interests in the region.

Keywords


  1. Asmus, R., Dimitrov K., & Forbrig J., eds. (2004). A New Euro-Atlantic Strategy for the Black Sea Region, Bratislava: VYV Public Relations
  2. Braudel, F. (1996). The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. 2 vols. Berkerley: University of California Press
  3. Coffey, L. (2014). “Self-Determination and National Security: Why the U.S. Should Back British Sovereignty over Gibraltar,” The Heritage Foundation Report Global Politics / The Heritage Foundation, February 13.
  4. Cohen, A. & Conway I. (2006). U.S. Strategy in the Black Sea Region, The Heritage Foundation Report, No. 1990. 2006.
  5. Davutoğlu, A. (2014). Stratejik derinlik. Türkiye’nin uluslararası konumu, İstanbul: Küre Yayınları.
  6. Fuat, K. E. (2017). A New Turkish Foreign Policy: Towards Proactive “Moral Realism.” Insight Turkey, January.
  7. Kaplan, R. (2013). The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate, Random House Trade Paperbacks.
  8. Kissinger, H. (1995). Diplomacy,New York: Simon and Shuster.
  9. Rodríguez, J. (2015). “El Desafío del Estrecho.” El País semanal, March.
  10. Zero Neighbours without Problems (2013). Turkije Instituut, 26 August.