Torn between East and West: Europe's border states

This book is a very timely account of the legal, economic and political consequences for border states caught in the current tug-of-war between the West and Russia.The Ukraine crisis of 2014 focused policy-makers’ attention on a geographical area full of dangers that had gone relatively unnoticed since the breakup of the Soviet Union, namely the security dynamics of the border states of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea. Twenty-five years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a strong Russia returns alternatively threatening and cajoling, but at risk itself of suffering economic injury from western reprisals over its nostalgia for the map drawn at Yalta. That conflict, which hotted up over the Ukraine, was soon being played out over - and in the air space over - Syria and Turkey, while the border states themselves are likely to be drawn into the European refugee crisis and have the potential, after the 2015 Paris atrocities, to be breeding grounds for international terrorists. This groundbreaking book contains prescient warnings that must be heeded by leaders and diplomats on both sides of the East-West divide.

Table of Contents:
Contents Notes on the Contributors List of Abbreviations Foreword by Geoffrey ROBERTSON QC Introduction. The Plight of Europe’s Border States Simona ŢUŢUIANU and Iulian CHIFU Chapter 1. New States, New Borders: Nothing Succeeds Like Secession? Șerban PAVELESCU and Simona ŢUŢUIANU Chapter 2. One Rope, Two Ends: NATO and EU Facing Russian Interests Iulian CHIFU and Diana BĂRBUCEANU Chapter 3. Is Energy Really Flowing from East to West? Narciz BĂLĂŞOIU and Dumitru ŞARANUŢA Chapter 4. Migration and Transnational Crime: Europe, the New Noah's Ark Adriana SAULIUC and Simona CATANĂ Chapter 5. The Frozen Conflicts Seem to Melt Down Iulian CHIFU and Andreea IBĂNESCU Chapter 6. Challenges of the MENA Region Radu ARGHIR, Adriana SAULIUC and Narciz BĂLĂŞOIU Chapter 7. Soft Power of the East: From Benign Influence to Dominance and Informational Warfare Iulian CHIFU, Alexandru VOICU andCarola FREY Chapter 8. Reestablishing a Fault Line between Europe’s East and West: Russia’s "Hybrid War" and How Should NATO Respond Simona ŢUŢUIANU and Nelu BÎRLĂ Chapter 9. Conflict Resolution Efforts: Recovering the Loss Ioan CRĂCIUN Index

About the Author :
Iulian Chifu serves as President of the Conflict Prevention and Early Warning Center and Associate Professor at the National School of Political Studies and Public Administration of Bucharest (Romania). Simona Ţuţuianu is a Senior Researcher at the Romanian Ministry of National Defence.

Review :
This book provides an incisive, knowledgeable, and comprehensive look at a region of increasing instability, which can at any time expose a security crisis between Russia and the West. A courageous journey into the pressing problems and creative solutions facing Europe’s border states. Teodor Meleşcanu, Professor at the National School of Political Studies and Public Administration and former Romanian Foreign Minister This edited work represents an excellent overview of the perceived security challenges, risks and threats faced by the EU and NATO border states, written from the perspective of capable researchers from the region. An outstanding searching appraisal of contemporary security issues, as well as the promises and pitfalls of mechanisms for conflict resolution. Greg Simons, Associate Professor at Uppsala University and the Swedish Defence University This volume is essential reading for all specialists in international affairs. It creditably avoids the temptation of partisanship and has the added advantage of an expert legal perspective. Its insights and arguments add significantly to our knowledge of the European border states, their geopolitical problems and the urgency of the need to address them before they return the world to a Cold War that may suddenly turn hot. Geoffrey Robertson QC, Founder and Head of Doughty Street Chambers and author of „Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice"