Political and Legal Mechanisms of the Russian-Ukrainian Struggle for Sea Control in the Black Sea and The Sea of Azov Region (1991–2014)
Abstract
Purpose. To conduct a comprehensive analysis of political and legal mechanisms and territorial disputes as instruments of Russian-Ukrainian confrontation over sea control in the Black Sea–Azov region during 1991–2014.
Methods. The study employs systemic, historical-genetic, problem-chronological, comparative legal, and structural-functional methods.
Findings. The study establishes that the status of Crimea and Sevastopol, the basing of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, and the delimitation of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait constituted interconnected components of the struggle for influence over the maritime domain. It is found that the Russian Federation used political and legal mechanisms, territorial disputes, and legal uncertainty to maintain and expand its regional influence. The 2003 Tuzla crisis marked a transition from political and legal confrontation to practical coercive actions. In retrospect, legal uncertainty and the Russian military presence in Crimea created conditions that were subsequently exploited during further escalation.
Theoretical implications. The study advances the scholarly understanding of the struggle for sea control as a complex process involving the interaction of political, legal, territorial, and military-political instruments. The proposed approach makes it possible to conceptualize legal uncertainty, territorial disputes, and military presence as interconnected factors in the transformation of the military-political balance in the maritime region.
Practical Value. The findings can be used to assess threats to Ukraine’s maritime security, develop national maritime policy, formulate legal and diplomatic positions for protecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and sovereign rights, and support strategic planning in the field of national security and defense.
Limitations/Future research. The study is limited to the period 1991–2014 and to the available source base, which consists primarily of publicly available legal and regulatory documents and scholarly publications and therefore does not allow for a comprehensive reconstruction of the motives and processes underlying political decision-making.
Paper type: Theoretical and analytical.
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