The East-West Transportation Corridor TRACECA and Its Implications for Sub-regional Development: The Case of the Black Sea Region of Turkey

As a promising route for the promotion of economic development for countries located along the corridor, the East-West corridor has been analyzed overwhelmingly from geopolitical perspectives. This approach, however, fails to consider for the full range of benefits the corridor would provide. The sub-regional benefits, even at the individual country level, are often overlooked. In order to present a subregional/micro level analysis of the implications of the East-West corridor in general, and TRACECA in particular, this paper focuses on the place and position of Turkey’s Black Sea region within TRACECA. It evaluates the influence of this cross-continental mega project on a sub-region of Turkey. The paper suggests that TRACECA has significance not only in terms of regional geopolitics but also in regard to sub-regional development. The paper assesses official statements by the Turkish government and the Permanent Secretariat of TRACECA. The authors discuss the opportunities and challenges posed by TRACECA’s development targets as well as those of the Turkish government at the local level.

Authors: Osman Karamustafa,Ali Ihsan Kahraman
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