In March 2014 the Crimean Peninsula -namely the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol-was annexed from Ukraine, thereby becoming two federal subjects of the Russian Federation. While the Western powers consider the annexation to be illegal, as it breaches the international law and violates territorial sovereignty of Ukraine, the Russian Federation claims that the referendum in which the Crimean population chose to be part of Russia is completely legitimate. Following the annexation of Crimea, the Western powers, including the EU and the U.S. imposed several restrictive measures on Russia in order to influence the Kremlin's foreign policy toward Ukraine. By drawing on the theory of international economic sanctions, this paper seeks to analyse the content and application of sanctions and assesses whether the sanctions succeeded in changing the geopolitical trajectory of the Russian Federation.

Kosovo"s proclamation of independence in 2008 led various reflections on U.S. and Russia. While the president George W. Bush looked with favor of Kosovo"s declaration, Russia argued that it was a infringement of international law and of Serbia"s territorial integrity. The 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, that to a certain extent gained Kosovo an additional impetus to break away from Serbia and Montenegro, is debated to this day since it was not supported by the United Nations Security Council. The policy of non-intervention and exempting local authorithy from foreign influences are two primary objectives of the Westphalian modelthe main theoretical framework on which this article is built. Drawing on these two main objectives, the paper tackles with the issue of Kosovo"s statehood from the perspective of both the U.S. and Russia. While Kosovo"s statehood is the focal point, the Western Balkan region is put in the spotlight to serve as a stage for competing superpowers.

Sponsored by IBU Cite as/ Atıf: Sıvış, E. (2020). NATO'nun Sırbistan'a yönelik operasyonunun ardından bölgede konuşlanan UNMIK ve KFOR'un mevcudiyeti ve faaliyetleri, Turkish Studies-Social, 15(2),

Following the 2004 presidential elections in Ukraine, people took streets in what is to be known as the Orange Revolution. The non-violent series of protests ensured fair and transparent elections and the transition of power from Leonid Kuchma to Viktor Yushchenko. The events that preceded the Orange Revolution and the protests themselves came under the international spotlight, setting an example of a nation that pursues democratic trajectory. This paper looks into the Orange Revolution with a particular emphasis on the U.S.' relations with Ukraine throughout that period.