Bundesheer

Since the era of the Greek War of Independence, the Greek-Turkish conflict has constituted one of the most salient security issues facing the international community. Apart from its effects on the countries involved, it currently affects international relations in three ways. First, it tends to jeopardise stability in the Balkans and the Middle East; second, it has a negative impact on the external relations of the European Union; and third, it constrains the formulation and implementation of NATO’s defence and overall security policy. Although many diplomatic efforts have been undertaken by third actors to bring the two countries closer so as to resolve their differences, these efforts have failed to produce any results while the conflict itself has increased in magnitude. This failure can be partly attributed to the inability of the international community to fully understand the nature and structure of the Greek-Turkish conflict which mirrors the most fundamental security problems facing states living and operating in an anarchical international system. The purpose of the article is, therefore, to provide an understanding of the Greek-Turkish conflict. In so doing, it first analyses the political context within which Greece and Turkey operate and discusses its consequences for the relations between the two countries. Second, it identifies the dilemmas facing Athens and Ankara and explains the effects of those dilemmas on Greek-Turkish relations. And third, it shows how those relations are further conditioned by their historical grievances; their domestic political processes; and the cognitive dynamics underlying their decision-making processes. Due to the nature and structure of the Greek-Turkish conflict, the article concludes that the existing problems and policies will, therefore, be maintained for the years to come although temporarily relations between the two countries will show signs of improvement.