De facto‘States’ around the Black Sea: The Importance of Fear

On 11 April 2007, the European Commission presented its Communication entitled Black Sea Synergy: A New Regional Cooperation Initiative. This Communication reflected the influence of a combination of factors that have led the European Union (EU) to consider greater engagement in the Black Sea region. Most importantly, the enlargement of the EU in May 2004 and January 2007 brought the Union geographically to the coastline of the Black Sea itself. The Black Sea raises high stakes in the EU as it works to become a foreign policy actor. The complexity of engaging in the region is exacerbated by an additional factor—the existence of four self‐declared ‘states’: the Pridnestrovyan Moldovan Republic (PMR) inside Moldovan borders, the Republic of South Ossetia, the Republic of Abkhazia, within Georgian borders, and the Nagorno‐Karabakh Republic in Azerbaijan. This article explores three questions raised by the existence of these de facto ‘states’. First, the discussion examines briefly the concept of the de facto ‘state’. Second, what has sustained these non‐recognised entities since the collapse of the Soviet Union? This section examines the particular importance of fear as a sustaining force. And third, what is the security impact at the individual, state and regional level of the de facto ‘states’? All three questions are relevant for the EU as it becomes more deeply engaged in the Black Sea.