The Baltic sea and the Black sea: security challenges and vulnerabilities after the cold war

ENAfter the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the USSR, the international system changed, becoming a unipolar one. Not only did this fact bring a diffusion of power and the reaffirmation of smaller actors/regional powers, the enlargement of several international organizations such as NATO and the EU, but also prompted regional transition and integration. This paper will focus on two regions that are fundamental in the security environment of Europe and its neighborhood: the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. Both areas suffered im portant changes after 1990. Furthermore, the areas mentioned have been a rendezvous point for several elements such as the shifting balance of power, political ambitions of smaller states, transit point for global trade routes (Scandinavia, Baltics and the Black Sea) and energy security issues. The article will take into account the concerns of the actors, outlining their security challenges and vulnerabilities as well as identifying similarities between countries from the two regions addressed. The compar ison will further address the issues the regions faced after the end of the Cold War such as the emergence of new countries, political and economic transition with emphasis on cooperation initiatives and integration in NATO and EU. The main aim of the arti cle will be to frame the similarities and differences of the political and security environment of the two regions.The structure of the paper goes as follows. I will start by laying out a theoretical framework centred upon the concept of security and what it involves and after that I will introduce and define the two regions discussed in the article, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea areas and outline the context each of them faced after the end of the Cold War. The next section will address the threats to the stability of the regions, creating the frame for the last part of the article which will make a comparison between the Baltic and the Black Sea areas. Keywords : regional security, Black Sea region, threats, Baltic Sea region, regional cooperation. [From the publication]