Greece and Turkey’s neorealist stance in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Sea maritime disputes

Abstract

Maritime disputes between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean Sea reflect the conflicts in the history of formation of both States. These disagreements acquired new dimensions with the discovery of mineral resources on Cyprus' Continental Shelf, the organization of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) and the announcement of the creation of the EastMed pipeline, which has the participation of Greece, Cyprus and Israel; and the exclusion of Turkey from this project. In contrast, Turkey values the expansionist policy of the Mavi Vatan (Blue Homeland), which seeks a new geopolitical positioning. This article aims to analyze the maritime disputes between Greece and Turkey for the use of this pipeline, based on realism theory in international relations. In this context, we will analyze the extent to which the neorealist stance of both States interferes with their relations with the European Union (EU), with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), with the resolutions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and with maritime disputes of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. To this end, we used a qualitative descriptive methodology through bibliographic research on the strategic relevance of the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean Sea and the challenges to maintain the stability of the region considering the particular interests of Greece and Turkey. In this sense, we used reports from the European Parliament, the US Congress on NATO, and articles on the maritime disputes in the region. The results show the extrapolation of the differences between the two States involving other actors in the maritime disputes, the establishment of international bilateral and multilateral agreements, the increased tension in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and, consequently, the adoption of a moderate stance by all actors involved in order to achieve a peaceful solution.