The New Geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean: Trilateral Partnerships and Regional Security

The document argues that a combination of systemic shifts—including a regional power vacuum, the discovery of hydrocarbons, and a more hostile Turkish foreign policy—and the pro-Western orientation of the Nikos Anastasiades government enabled Cyprus to move from a reactive to a proactive foreign policy. This shift is manifested in 'trilateral partnerships' with Greece, Israel, and Egypt, which serve as a balancing strategy against Turkey. While these efforts have enhanced Cyprus's regional role and security, the author suggests they may have led the government to overlook the domestic and intercommunal complexities of the Cyprus Problem.

• Since 2010, Cyprus has transitioned from an inactive or reactive foreign policy to a proactive one, characterized by the development of 'trilateral partnerships' with Greece, Israel, and Egypt, as well as emerging synergies with Lebanon, Malta, Palestine, and Italy.
• The shift toward proactivity was driven by systemic factors, including the discovery of hydrocarbons off the coasts of Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel, and a change in Turkish foreign policy that moved away from the 'zero problems with neighbours' principle toward a more self-centered and hostile approach.
• Cyprus utilizes these trilateral partnerships and strengthened security relations with other coastal states as an external balancing strategy to manage the Turkish threat, which is viewed as the primary security threat and is characterized by state revisionism and a sense of imminence.
• The domestic political orientation under President Nikos Anastasiades and the Democratic Rally (DISY) party acted as an intervening variable, filtering systemic pressures to favor a pro-Western international orientation and a more energetic regional role.
• The author contends that while the proactive foreign policy has brought external benefits, it may have created a disconnect where the government expects these diplomatic successes to automatically resolve the Cyprus Problem without sufficient focus on intercommunal relations and negotiations with the Turkish-Cypriot community.

APA

Tziarras, Z. (2019). The New Geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean: Trilateral Partnerships and Regional Security. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://files.prio.org/publication_files/cyprus/GeopoliticsEasternMediterranean/The%20New%20Geopolitics%20of%20the%20Eastern%20Mediterranean%20-%20Chapter%204%20-%20Cypruss%20Foreign%20Policy..%20-%20Zenonas%20Tziarras.pdf

Chicago

Tziarras, Zenonas. The New Geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean: Trilateral Partnerships and Regional Security. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2019. https://files.prio.org/publication_files/cyprus/GeopoliticsEasternMediterranean/The%20New%20Geopolitics%20of%20the%20Eastern%20Mediterranean%20-%20Chapter%204%20-%20Cypruss%20Foreign%20Policy..%20-%20Zenonas%20Tziarras.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tziarras |first1=Zenonas |title=The New Geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean: Trilateral Partnerships and Regional Security |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=2019 |url=https://files.prio.org/publication_files/cyprus/GeopoliticsEasternMediterranean/The%20New%20Geopolitics%20of%20the%20Eastern%20Mediterranean%20-%20Chapter%204%20-%20Cypruss%20Foreign%20Policy..%20-%20Zenonas%20Tziarras.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tziarras2019new, author = {Tziarras, Zenonas}, title = {{The New Geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean: Trilateral Partnerships and Regional Security}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2019}, url = {https://files.prio.org/publication_files/cyprus/GeopoliticsEasternMediterranean/The%20New%20Geopolitics%20of%20the%20Eastern%20Mediterranean%20-%20Chapter%204%20-%20Cypruss%20Foreign%20Policy..%20-%20Zenonas%20Tziarras.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }