Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The logic of this book is based on three historical strata. The book contains four parts. Part one of the book places Black Sea issues in a wider historical and spatial context. Part two takes a closer look at the region, allowing the authors to go into further detail regarding the structure of the Black Sea area. Part three offers a perspective on smaller actors but with greater ambitions in the Black Sea. Finally, Part four make comparisons between emerging regionalism in the Black Sea area and regionalisms in other parts of the world. The book offers a multi-dimensional image of the Black Sea area by combining different theoretical perspectives, different disciplines such as history, geopolitics, foreign policy analysis, international relations and EU studies, different historical periods, and different objects of study.