Romania - A soft power leader in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region
Romania - A soft power leader in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region

Summary/Abstract: Romania is a committed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally and the cornerstone of Black Sea security. Despite Romania’s demonstrated NATO contributions, perhaps we are underestimating the country’s capabilities and potential when it comes to deterrence. What Romania proved most during the COVID-19 pandemic response was that it could embrace the values of leadership, contribution and positive influence by rapidly extending medical aid to countries such as Italy, the Republic of Moldova and even the United States while simultaneously responding to its own crises at home. The Romanian military was the ultimate tool in this form of soft-power projection: agile enough to rapidly deploy medical aid, flexible enough to manage traditional civil institutions such as local/regional hospitals when called upon by the government to do so and innovative enough to re-tool parts of its defense industry to produce COVID-19 related equipment on a moment’s notice. These are remarkable achievements that can be used to influence partners and neighbors in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region. We should re-evaluate Romania’s increased potential to NATO, the European Union (EU) and bilateral relations with the United States, specifically in the area of soft power projection.

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