| Since the demise of the Soviet Union, the Newly Independent States in the Black Sea Region (NISBSR) who have expressed their democratic choice have been the target of strategic separatist movements. Frozen conflicts resulting in breakaway territories such as Transdniestria in Moldova, Abkhazia, South Ossetia in Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan have become hosts to foreign military presence and have become known as criminal black holes. Ukraine has also faced separatist sentiment directly supported by Moscow in Crimea, which is also a host to foreign military presence. The extent to which, transnational organized crime and the political criminal nexus negatively affect a States power potential in this region will be examined. |
