Spoils of a War: Impact of Georgia-Russia War on Russian Foreign and Security Policies in the ‘Near Abroad’

Gürcistan’da Ağustos 2008’de yaşanan savaştan önce Rusya’ya karşı bir çok rakibi, Moskova’nın ‘yakın çevre’de etkisini koruma ve güçlendirme çabalarına karşı meydan okudu. Bu anlamda, Rusya için Güney Osetya üzerine Gürcistan’daki savaş, aynı aktörün ‘yakın çevre’de özel çıkarlarının olduğunu güçlü şekilde tekrar belirtme anlamında tam zamanında ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu çalışmada Gürcistan’daki savaş, ‘yakın çevre’de total olarak ‘oyunu’ değiştirecek bir gelişmeden ziyade, önemli jeopolitik sonuçlara yol açabilen bir olay olarak ele alınmıştır. Dolayısıyla çalışma, Gürcistan’a yönelik reaksiyonuyla Rusya’nın, önceden zaten ‘yakın çevre’de siyasi ve ekonomik olarak ulusal çıkarlarını arttırma çabalarını, şimdi daha fazla araçla ve daha dikkatli biçimde sürdürme amacı taşıdığını ileri sürmektedir. Özellikle ABD ve AB’nin kendisine karşı sert eleştirilerine ve aldıkları bazı önlemlere rağmen, Rusya ‘yakın çevre’yi tekrar kendi etki alanına çekmeyi başarmıştır. Rusya bunu, Gürcistan savaşı öncesi izlediği realist tutumunun temel özelliklerini taşıyan bir çok metodu bugün de kullanarak sürdürmektedir. Rusya’nın savaş öncesi ‘yakın çevre’ konseptini açıkladıktan sonra çalışma, aynı aktörün yine aynı bölge üzerinde jeopolitik iddilarını tekrar gerçekleştirme çabasını en etkin biçimde açıkladığı düşünülen; ABD ve AB’yi kısıtlayan Rusya, güvenlik alanını derinleştirmek için Ortak Güvenlik Antlaşması Teşkilatı, güvenlik alanını genişletmek için Şangay İşbirliği Örgütü ve Rusya’yı tekrar ‘büyük’ yapmak için enerji boru hatları konularını ele almaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Rusya, Yakın Çevre, Gürcistan’da Savaş, Dış Politika, Güvenlik

Bir Savaşın Ganimetleri: Gürcistan-Rusya Savaşı’nın Yakın Çevre’de Rus Dış ve Güvenlik Politikaları Üzerine Etkisi

Prior to the war in Georgia in August 2008, Russia’s efforts to maintain and strengthen its influence in the ‘near abroad’ had been challenged by its competitors. Hence, the war in Georgia over South Ossetia came just in a right moment for Russian leadership to strongly reassert the presence of Russia’s exclusive interests in the ‘near abroad’. In this study, the war in Georgia is treated as an event not being a total game-changer but an event capable of having important geopolitical implications in the ‘near abroad’. Thus, the article argues that Russia’s reaction to Georgia aimed to carry out what it had already been doing politically and economically, now in a heightened alert with multifarious tools to enhance Russian national interests in the ‘near abroad’. Despite harsh criticism and some measures taken particularly by the US and the EU, Russia has largely succeeded in taking the ‘near abroad’ back into its influence. Russia has been doing this through a number of methods showing the very bases of Russia’s pre-Georgian war realism. After identifying Russian conception of ‘near abroad’ before the War, the study will delve into four policy areas through which Russia’s geopolitical re-claim in the same region is thought to be best identified: Russia curbing the US and the EU, Collective Security Treaty Organization for deepening security space, Shanghai Cooperation Organization for widening security space and energy pipelines for making Russia ‘great’ again.

Keywords:

Russia, Near Abroad, War in Georgia, Foreign Policy, Security ,

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