MEĐUNARODNI PROBLEMI

Greek-Turkish Maritime Disputes: Foreign Policy Analysis

Pejković Marko (Institute for Political Studies, Belgrade, Serbia), marko.pejkovic@ips.ac.rs

This paper focuses on the disputes between Greece and Turkey following the Greek military dictatorship and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 in the Aegean/Eastern Mediterranean. These disputes involve sensitive issues of sovereignty over territorial waters and sovereign rights in the exclusive economic zone/epicontinental shelf. The research question seeks to explain how these crises, including their outbreak, course, and resolution, can be understood? Through an analysis of parliamentary minutes, documents, scientific literature and media reports in Greek and English, the argument is made that previous crises within these disputes, which have not escalated to war, are best explained by the specific foreign policies crafted by both countries. Rather than relying on “grand” theories of international relations, the complex process of formulating foreign policies plays a crucial role in shaping the development and resolution of these crises. This process in influenced by three key factors: 1) the perception of the state leadership in Greece and Turkey regarding their proximity to the USA/EU, 2) political dynamics including tension between opposition and government, coalition parties, factions within ruling parties, leadership qualities and styles, and the influence of state apparatus such as the military 3) miscommunications between states and random events that can impact the course of these disputes.

Keywords: Greece, Turkey, continental shelf, territorial waters, exclusive economic zone