Turkey, the EU and the Eastern mediterranean crisis: militarization of foreign policy and power rivalry

Abstract

The Eastern Mediterranean crisis reflects two overlapping developments. On the one hand, it is a manifestation of Turkey’s increasingly assertive posturing in the inter­national arena. At the same time, it shows the intensity of the geopolitical competi­tion between Turkey and its adversaries, such as Egypt and the UAE. The EU Member States’ different levels and forms of engagement with Turkey obstruct a consensus on how to coherently respond to these developments. With accession negotiations stalled and discussions focused on areas of conflict rather than cooperation, EU-Turkey relations are mired in stalemate, while the militarization of foreign policy is becoming increasingly prevalent in the EU’s southern neighbourhood. (Autorenreferat)