Critical Rethinking of Public Administration Contribution ID: 46 Típus: International Studies The Black Sea Kerch Strait Incident: Between Maritime Law and Psychology Drama Triangle 2021. április 10., szombat 12:00 (15 perc) This empirical study addresses the reasons behind differing interpretations of international rules intheas- sessment of the 2018 Kerch Strait incident, in which Russian vessels implemented military action towards Ukrainian vessels. The article is significant, because it concerns the EU neighbourhood, Russia-NATO dynam- ics, the role of Turkey, and Ukraine. The first perspective explores the challenges of the Black Sea maritime security in the framework of UN Law of the Sea 1982 and the Montreux Convention 1936. The findings show that the Kerch Strait Incident could be solved according to the international law only if the law is accepted by all involved states. The major difficulty comes from the interpretation of Russia, as the control oftheKerch Strait allows access of NATO to its internal territory through Azov Sea, endangering its internal security. The territorial waters of Crimea refer to its land, therefore Kerch can be judged only after agreement to whom Crimea belongs through political agreement or through new maritime law. The second perspective examines psychology drama triangle, where the long-lasting historical competition over Crimea moves between victim- villain-rescuer triangle. In this case, it is found that the core problem is Ukraine’s role of a victim who changes its perception to different actors over time, seeing them once as rescuers, second time as villains. Therefore, the solution is in assuring constant and stable policy of Ukraine. Keywords: Black Sea Straits, EU, Russia, Turkey Elsődleges szerző: KIRILOVA, Neli (PhD Candidate - International Relations and Security Studies, CUB) Előadó: KIRILOVA, Neli (PhD Candidate - International Relations and Security Studies, CUB) Session Classification: International Studies.