Is the latest Turkish–Greek détente promising for the future?

Abstract

The main contention of this article is that the recent thaw in bilateral Greek–Turkish relations is promising yet insufficient for the future stability and cooperation in and around the Aegean Sea. To the surprise of committed observers of Turkish–Greek relations,the two countries set into motion a cooperative interaction process in the middle of 1999 and since then have succeeded in sorting out some problematical issues between them. Taking stock of this process, some observers have rushed to conclude that this process is irreversible and as long as both preserve their aspirations to further ‘Europeanize’, neither the Cyprus dispute nor the Aegean problems would remain unsolved. Either sooner or later, they would come to an everlasting settlement over these issues lest their continuation hamper their desires to become true Europeans by taking their seats around the same EU table in Brussels. However, as this article argues, there do not exist ample reasons for feeling optimistic about the future. The main reason lies in the prevalence of instrumental-strategic thinking on both shores of the Aegean Sea.