The US Approach to Security in the Black Sea Region

Although the Black Sea Region (BSR) has risen in importance for the US since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sustained US focus on the region is not guaranteed. Within Europe, the BSR has historically been a sideshow. Successive US administrations focused on defending NATO allies in Central and Eastern Europe, even as Russia was invading Georgia in 2008 and intervening in Ukraine since 2014. Globally, the BSR and Europe as a whole will compete with Asia for US attention and resources. Since the first Obama Administration, the US has been trying to shift its diplomatic, military and economic focus toward Asia, where it sees a rising China as a potential threat and growing economies as an opportunity. Ironically, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and Georgia, and its destabilisation of other European states, has kept the US firmly anchored in Europe, despite its desire to rebalance toward Asia. Keeping the BSR a US priority will require sustained attention from Congress. Legislation recently passed by Congress provides reason for cautious optimism because it requires the White House to produce a long-term, inter-agency strategy for the BSR. Such strategies, especially those that lay out clear objectives and dedicate specific resources to an issue, are key to sustaining policy momentum as US presidential administrations change.