Xenophon Paper 2 pdf - ICBSS

THE TURKISH POLICY TOWARDS THE WIDER
BLACK SEA REGION AND ITS CHAIRMANSHIP
OF THE BSEC (MAY - OCTOBER 2007)
Mustafa Aydin & Omer Fazlioglu
Introduction
The Wider Black Sea Region’s (WBSR) political, social and economic transition in the
post Cold War era is still in full swing. The end of the Cold War enabled the Euro-Atlantic
community to interact with the regional countries, triggering a gradual shift in the region
towards an emerging pan-European political/economic space. Romania and Bulgaria’s
NATO and EU memberships, Turkey’s start of the accession talks with the EU, the ‘colour
revolutions’ in Ukraine and Georgia are some of the instances indicating the region’s
ardent, however inexperienced, Euro-Atlantic inclination. Especially former communist
states and newly independent republics have experienced tribulations in their transition
to democracy and market economy which took place in spite of their past attachments,
habits and alliances.
Starting from the early 1990’s, Turkey, as a regional player, paved the way for multilateral
cooperation in the region by initiating Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(BSEC), which has undoubtedly contributed to the transition of the WBSR. Rapid political
and economic developments that took place in the eastern and western shores of the
WBSR since 9/11 have required fresh analysis and new approaches to address the
current challenges facing regional countries. Turkey will hold the BSEC rotating
chairmanship in the period 1 May - 31 October 2007, presenting it with an opportunity
to reiterate an earlier visionary approach towards region-wide multilateral cooperation
schemes by pushing further integration of the region as well as inclusion of hitherto unchartered
areas into the BSEC agenda. Whether Turkey could rise up to these expectations
during its tenure, which is marked by the fifteenth anniversary of the Organisation, is
another question. Nevertheless, it is clear that the recent developments in the WBSR
present a unique opportunity for both Turkey and the BSEC to set a new vision for the
region.
The wider Black Sea region in the post Cold War era: Economic blessing versus
geopolitical curse?
The Wider Black Sea Region appears at the forefront of the global political and economic
agenda in the first decade of the 21st century due to interrelated geo-economic and geopolitical
reasons. From the geopolitical perspective, the WBSR undeniably regained a
strategic significance when the Euro-Atlantic threat perception dramatically shifted after
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