Since Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, Romania's security situation has changed fundamentally. As Romania is the country in the European Union with the longest land and sea border with Ukraine, Romania's perception of security threats in its immediate vicinity has increased dramatically after February 2022. Despite its size and importance at the regional level, Romania's voice is not heard very often in the major European debates on foreign policy and security.
The formulation of Romania's foreign policy objectives and a nuanced analysis of the geopolitical context are left to the often very opaque bureaucracy of the state. At the same time, the objectives of Romania's foreign policy are not discussed in a public debate that is also open to civil society actors and academic experts. Part of this situation can be explained by the insufficient funding of Romanian diplomacy and the lack of ambition of the Bucharest political elite.
The lack of transparency of Romanian foreign and security policy key actors fuels doubt and uncertainty among citizens, gives room for right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists to sow fear and discord, and ultimately prevents the official foreign policy objectives of the Romanian state from being supported by the majority of society. Furthermore, it contradicts the massively increased demand of the general public for foreign policy and security news.
Our aim was to publish a series of short analyses on Romania's foreign policy responses in its current security environment, in cooperation with the young and promising think tank Quartet Institute. In order to broaden the debate and make this field accessible to a wider public, the aim was to publish the short analyses in a newspaper with a national audience, such as the newspaper Libertatea. The authors of the analyses were asked to answer at least two of the following three questions: (1) What is the status quo? (2) What should Romania strive for? (3) How can Romania achieve its goals?
Iulia Joja, associate professor at Georgetown University and security expert, explains why the Black Sea countries failed to build a common defense policy, why Romania fails to reach its potential as a regional leader and what our country can do to increase its security, in the context of the war in Ukraine.
Iulia Joja is Senior Fellow and Program Director at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, where she coordinates the Black Sea Program. She is an associate professor at Georgetown University and George Washington University. Its research agenda focuses on issues related to European security and the Black Sea region.
De ce Marea Neagră este încă un lac rusesc și de ce politicile României o fac să pară mai mică și mai slabă decât este în realitate
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Romania's energy security is affected by the state itself. By energy security we mean constant access to sufficient energy resources at affordable costs. We are almost independent, but Romania's problem, compared to most of the richer European countries, is the price level, writes energy analyst Andrei Ilaș, who explains what Romania's government could do in this regard.
Andrei Ilaș is energy analyst, co-founder and director of nrgi.ai - an energy price analysis platform for industrial clients, founding member and COO of the Energy Cooperative. He holds degrees in Political Science from the University of Bucharest, Finance from the Academy of Economic Studies (ASE) and Public Policy from the Hertie School in Berlin.
Although almost energy independent, the Romanian state is failing to regulate the sector and it shows in prices
Bucharest has declared to have regional aspirations. But in reality, its foreign policy attitude is modest in dynamics and initiative.
Teodor Lucian Moga is lecturer at the Center for European Studies, Faculty of Law, "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iași (UAIC), he previously completed postdoctoral studies at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, a PhD in Economics and International Relations at UAIC and a Master's degree in Political Science at the University of Manchester, UK.
Although we are a medium-sized country, Romania behaves like a small power. Why is that?
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Bucharest needs a clear agenda in its relations with Belgrade and the Western Balkans in general. After all, this is not just about Romanians in the Timoc region, but about a much bigger issue.
Miruna Butnaru-Troncotă is an expert on Western Balkans politics.
What happened to the cliché that Serbia and the Black Sea are Romania's best neighbors
Our country plays an insufficient role in the discussion on the future of security in Europe, writes Cornelia Baciu, an expert in international security and conflict research.
Cornelia Baciu is an expert in international security and conflict research.
Romania's voice is missing from major European strategic debates. When you keep silent, others speak for you
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu's visit to Germany reopens the discussion about the asymmetry of the relationship between Romania and Germany: they know what we want, so we don't need to know it ourselves.
Tudor Dan Ancuța is an analyst specializing in the German sphere, currently working in the Bundestag.
After years of bilateral relations, Bucharest thinks Berlin already knows what we want, so we don't need to ask for anything else
Romania punches below its weight in foreign policy. This is one of the most common assertions shared by Romanian and foreign foreign policy analysts, writes Marius Ghincea, an expert in international relations and PhD researcher at the European University Institute in Florence. But how many of us know that Hungary invests more than twice as much as Romania every year, with the Hungarians putting their foreign ministry's €638 million in 2022?
Marius Ghincea is a social scientist and public policy expert. He is currently affiliated with the European University Institute in Florence and a lecturer at Syracuse University in the United States.
Warning: Romania is more diligent and productive than its irrelevant foreign policy. Why?
