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

The document analyzes Greece's strategic shift in the Eastern Mediterranean, emphasizing the role of personal beliefs of policymakers like Nikos Kotzias in shaping a 'diverse active policy'. It details Greece's efforts to establish trilateral partnerships with Israel, Egypt, and Cyprus to counter Turkish influence and leverage hydrocarbon discoveries. Central to this strategy is the ambition to become a regional energy hub through projects like the EastMed pipeline and electrical interconnectors, while positioning Greece as an 'exporter of stability' within a 'triangle of instability' comprising Ukraine, Libya, and Syria.

• Since 2015, Greek foreign policy has been heavily influenced by the personal beliefs of decision-makers, particularly former Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, who advocated for a "strategy of diverse active policy" to avoid "paralysis" and "non-participation in decision-making".
• Greek policymakers operate under the geopolitical assumption that Greece is the "strategic centre of a triangle of instability", with the vertices of this triangle being Ukraine in the north, and Libya and Syria in the south.
• Greece has developed five trilateral cooperation schemes with Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan, with the partnerships involving Cyprus, Greece, and Israel, and Cyprus, Greece, and Egypt serving as the primary "backbone of a new regionalsecurity architecture".

APA

Tsardanidis, C. (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%205%20-%20Greeces%20Changing%20Role%20-%20Charalambos%20Tsardanidis.pdf

Chicago

Tsardanidis, Charalambos. 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%205%20-%20Greeces%20Changing%20Role%20-%20Charalambos%20Tsardanidis.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tsardanidis |first1=Charalambos |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%205%20-%20Greeces%20Changing%20Role%20-%20Charalambos%20Tsardanidis.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tsardanidis2019new, author = {Tsardanidis, Charalambos}, 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%205%20-%20Greeces%20Changing%20Role%20-%20Charalambos%20Tsardanidis.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }