By: Martin Makaryan & Kayla Goldstein
Edited By: Alexandra Huggins
SAIS’s new campus has become a hub for students, academics, officials, and experts to discuss and debate the most pressing issues in international affairs and foreign policy today. Among the first wave of events that gathered dozens of stakeholders in the 8th-floor conference room was the Black Sea Security Conference, co-organized by SAIS’ own Caucasus and Central Asia Club and the Caspian Policy Center, a DC-based think tank.
Seven countries have access to the Black Sea: Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, and Turkey. Yet, the geographic, economic, political, and military factors make the realities of the Black Sea region larger than what any map can show – incorporating critical, yet subliminal links of the countries that have access to the Black Sea, regional implications are extended into the South Caucasus, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, and even Central Asia. Needless to say, Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has further increased the Black Sea’s strategic importance and relevance both regionally and for the United States.
The conference featured opening and closing remarks by the CCA Club’s Co-Presidents, Rachel Schifman and Mariam Tkeshelashvili, remarks by SAIS faculty Dr. Marsha Olive, expert panels, questions from interested students and members of the public, and the highlight of the event — the keynote speech of Hon. Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense. In her speech, Assistant Secretary Wallander discussed the strategic importance of the Black Sea as part of the emerging middle corridor that links the South Caucasus, including Central Asia, and their growing economies to opportunities emerging in the West for economic and political integration. Assistant Secretary Wallander further addressed US policies specifically aiming to assist the region and maintain its territorial structure in the wake of Russia’s unpredictable and threatening movements.
The one-day conference format, which required extensive planning and efforts beginning last summer, featured key discussions related to security and economic issues. In discussing her takeaways from the conference, Co-President of the Caucasus and Central Asia Club Mariam Tkeshelashvili, a second-year MAIR student focusing on Technology, Innovation, and Security in Europe and Eurasia, explained the success of the highly anticipated and timely event was thanks to the organization and efforts of her executive board, students Humay Aliyeva, Gayden Erickson, Julie Neveleff, and Co-President Rachel Schifman. “If you have a great team, anything is possible.”
Based on the content from the conference, one of Tkehelashvili’s main takeaways from the panel discussions was the interest and curiosity of students regarding the next stages of Black Sea security. “For me, it’s hard to imagine how the US-Russian relationship will look in the future,” Tkehelashvili says. “But, as people studying policy and are essentially the future of policymakers, [it makes sense that] they are interested in that type of forward-thinking.”
As we enter the third year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it can be difficult to analyze how the war and its ripple effects have impacted the region and, in turn, international relationships. Similarly, it is unsettling to analyze the ramifications on countries close to Russia and visualize their evolving strategy towards Moscow as the war continues and eventually concludes. A student question from the audience regarding the future of US-Russian relations was directed to the Former Turkish Ambassador and career diplomat Alper Coşkun, now current Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The student was curious to hear more from Coşkun as he gave his perspective on US policy and relations, although it was a fascinating choice of respondent given the fact that all other panelists would have responded from the US perspective. The response was a shot in the dark of what relations could look like and where priorities for the United States should lie, although it was interesting to hear a foreign perspective on future US objectives where the Kremlin is concerned. Much of any future US-Russian relationship and political strategy will depend extensively on the outcome of the war, whether Ukraine is victorious or fails to defend its borders against an unpredictable Russia. As current and future policymakers studying at SAIS, it is incredibly difficult for us to fathom and strategize policy avenuesavenues of policy while the war rages on.
What we can determine from this conference is that there is significant interest in the Black Sea region, as the security implications extend far beyond the region itself. Before attending this conference, one could have arguably concluded that the region lacks significant interest compared to other regions where the most pressing international crises are ongoing or have been deemed more “relevant” to US national security interests by the IC and beyond. However, one of the conference’s main objectives was to reverse this binary view, focusing on why the larger Black Sea region matters, and how it certainly does from strategic, security, and economic perspectives. In response to why the average American should care about the region, Rachel Schifman, Co-President of the CCA Club and second-year SAIS student whose parents fled the Soviet Union, poignantly responded, “Because your members of Congress are already interested in it.” The Black Sea Security Act of 2023, which mandates that the Administration develop a strategy, was introduced in the U.S. Senate last year but has yet to be debated or passed. Additionally, Congress has mandated the administration develop a Black Sea security strategy. Furthermore, many panelists highlighted the rising popularity of the Black Sea region among DC residents, particularly regarding economic factors and regional security. It was clear from the turnout of this conference that this is true. Tkehashvili also noted that it would be good to continue these discussions on a smaller scale at SAIS’ Bloomberg Center, as many students found the discussion applicable to their various fields of study, both regionally and thematically.
In a discussion with The Observer after the event, Schiffman later stated there is a lack of academic coverage of the region at SAIS and encouraged adding courses related to this field of study. The Europe and Eurasia regional focus area does not currently offer any courses focused primarily on Central Asia or the Caucasus, except for the Central Asia practicum, which, unfortunately, will not be traveling to the region this year as it has done previously. Given the lack of courses, the Club has aimed to fill the vacuum. The conference was among such attempts to bring awareness to the region by tying it to a key geostrategic point — the Black Sea. Congratulations to SAIS Caucasus and Central Asia Club leadership, advisor Dr. Marsha Olive, and the Caspian Policy Center for an insightful and riveting event on Black Sea Security. The questions students took away from the conference will fuel and build the foundation for the future of strategic policy in the region and serve as an incredible learning opportunity to further understand the strategic, economic, and political drivers impacting Black Sea policy today.