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In Geopolitics

Sanctions on the horizon?

Last week, EU members met in Brussels to discuss a host of issues the Union faces in 2021. Sanctions against Turkey were on the table, ostensibly to punish it for what some members claim are its “illegal activities” in the Eastern Mediterranean. But unity in the Union is in short supply these days. The Greek...

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In Geopolitics

Is This Really About Libya?

Last week’s run-in between a Turkey-flagged cargo ship and an EU maritime patrol, part of Operation IRINI set up to enforce the arms embargo on Libya, demonstrated once again that tensions on the Mediterranean Sea, far from easing, are deepening to worrisome levels. The issues are complex and Libya, a conflict that has exposed fault...

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In Geopolitics

Turkey, Cyprus, and the geopolitics of the sea

As presidential elections in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus move into a runoff phase, a central question that has emerged is what the future of the island will look like. The question could not be more existential. On the one side, there is Mustafa Akıncı, the incumbent president who believes the future prosperity of...

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In Geopolitics

Nationalism versus geopolitics

After many months of nail-biting tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey and Greece now appear to be ready to sit down to hammer out a negotiated settlement over exclusive economic zones and other areas of disagreement. But these sorts of negotiated settlements never play out exclusively in the international arena; there are always domestic considerations....

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In Geopolitics

The Return of Empire?

As old political structures show signs of weakening, the world order as we know it is changing. Traditional powers, the former colonial juggernauts like Britain and France, and to some degree the U.S., are witnessing a waning of their influence around the world. New forces are rising, but are they, like their predecessors, exhibiting imperial...

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In Geopolitics

France’s folly

French behavior in recent months has been perplexing or, for the less diplomatically-inclined, downright aggravating. Whether it is dictating to Lebanon or pretending it still has colonial influence in Syria, the French government under Emmanuel Macron’s leadership exhibits the kind of post-colonial hubris one might ascribe to an empire in decline. Only, France as an...

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In Geopolitics

The continuing game in the geopolitics of energy

With last week’s announcement that a somewhat substantial deposit of natural gas has been discovered in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast, Turkey formally enters the energy resource game. It has, of course, pursued its dream of energy independence for a long time but with the ongoing struggle with Greece and Cyprus over energy...