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Financialization and neoliberal globalization have increased the dependency of peripheral countries on core economies. This paper tracks the neoliberalization processes of Greece and Turkey, two neighbouring countries on the periphery of Europe. By using a comparative political economy method and borrowing from the variegated capitalism literature, it critically investigates how these two Mediterranean countries were affected by the 2008 global financial crisis, their variant responses, and the impacts of those responses within their historical specificities. The development trajectories of these two countries were similar until the 1980s, but diverged thereafter. Before the 2008 financial crisis erupted, both Greece and Turkey had neoliberal trajectories; the process they experienced through the crisis (how they were impacted by the crisis, as well as how they responded) varied; yet, capitalist restructuring deepened in both countries after the crisis. This was achieved through rising authoritarian populism in Turkey and the pressure of international institutions (both the International Monetary Fund [IMF] and the European Union [EU]) in Greece. Given that Greece is a member of the EU and Turkey is a longstanding candidate, the variances between Greece and Turkey's neoliberalization processes and the differing impacts the 2008 global financial crisis had on them make studying the contrasts between these countries important and timely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the Greek-Turkish rapprochement, taking as its point of departure the two states' economic relations, and explores possible linkages to political cooperation. The paper finds growing collaboration in a context characterized by the proliferation of non-state actors in economic decision-making, and underlines the role played by FDI flows and trade decisions in stimulating cooperation. At the same time, it rejects an uncritical acceptance of economic functionalism and stresses the salience of politics, above and beyond Turkey's EU candidacy, to consolidate the gains from the rapprochement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to theorize about how dynamics of party competition influence government decisions to engage in foreign policy change. It shows how a focus on the functioning of polarized two-party competition in Greece in the late 1990s sheds light on crucial questions concerning the content, timing and institutionalization of Greece’s decision to allow the EU to grant Turkey candidate-member status. The article problematizes this foreign policy change as a decision influenced, among other factors, by the demands of party competition, and especially the strategy of the then ruling socialist party. More generally, this article shows how a focus on party politics complements in various interesting ways our understanding of foreign policy decisions and foreign policy change. Party system dynamics are shown to act as significant intervening factors between determinants of foreign policy usually analyzed in the literature and eventual foreign policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the changing dynamics of Greek–Turkish relations since the end of the Second World War. The initial sections focus on tensions during the Cold War and their impact on relations with the USA and NATO. Subsequent sections examine the origin and impact of the thaw in relations between Athens and Ankara since l999; the changing role of the Cyprus issue; and new regional security threats. A final section discusses prospects for future relations between Greece and Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the late 1990s, Greek-Turkish relations have undergone significant transformation. Both countries have reengineered their relations towards one another, and Turkey's candidature for EU membership has been an important factor in this transformation. The aim of this article is to examine the shift that has taken place in Greek-Turkish relations through the prism of the Kantian democratic peace theory. A conceptual discussion of the democratic peace theory is followed by a comparative analysis of the political, economic and institutional variables in the case of Greece and Turkey, and a presentation of the progress that has been achieved in many aspects of the bilateral relationship. Given the nature of the unresolved issues that continue to render Greek-Turkish relations vulnerable, the authors conclude that 'issue management' will most likely characterize bilateral relations in the short to medium term, hoping that the trends of economic and social exchange, cooperation and interdependence will continue on their current upward path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developments in the Balkans have always been at the top of Greece’s foreign policy considerations. This article reviews Greece’s approach to the region during the Cold War period and especially since then by attempting to explain why the region holds such a high priority for Greece and how the country and its foreign policy elite deal with it. The need for having a domestic consensus, lining up policy with that of the European Union, working with the United States and keeping relations with Turkey on an even keel are some of the conclusions the author draws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a substantially revised version of the talk given by the author at the conference on ‘Greek‐Turkish Relations: A Key to Stability in the Eastern Mediterranean’, organized by the Bologna Center of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) on 10–11 February in Bologna, Italy. The discussion addresses, in the light of the latest developments, circumstances under which the current Greek‐Turkish rapprochement was initiated, and some of the factors that may help to strengthen or detract from the normalization of the relations in the near future. It also explores the means for deepening the reconciliation in a European context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a tour d’horizon of Greek foreign policy where four of its dimensions are assessed in depth. These include the Europeanisation of Greek foreign policy, relations with Turkey, the state of affairs in the Balkans and the Euro‐Atlantic context. The author attempts to explain the impact of these aforementioned contexts by exploring the degree to which Greece has successfully defended its national interests, but he also warns of the need for adaptation to the new global threats that have particularly emerged since 9/11. These new ‘functional’ threats and concerns imply a readjustment of the regional approach to foreign policy that Greece has traditionally pursued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses specifically on the interplay between Greek–Turkish relations and how these play out in the European Union (EU). In particular, the author analyses the reasons behind Greece’s U‐turn of December 1999 when at the Helsinki EU summit it lifted its objections regarding Turkey’s EU future. He then explains the rationale behind Greek thinking as an attempt to secure its security needs by bringing Turkey into the EU fold. Finally, the article explores the prospects of further improvement in the relations between the two states as Turkey’s turn to begin accession negotiations nears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Claims of increasing involvement of organized crime organizations in people smuggling and trafficking have recently attracted attention and concern at national and international levels. Over the last decade both Turkey and Greece have been exposed to the flow of irregular migrants often being smuggled through the Middle East to the Balkans, and then intending to sneak into western Europe. This article first elaborates the dynamics and mechanisms of human smuggling from Turkey to Greece, evaluates the nature of smuggling between Turkey and Greece on the basis of empirical evidence, and then shifts its attention to the question of how these two countries respond to the challenges of this transborder crime. In seeking a proper answer to this question, the article tries to relate the smuggling question in the Balkan region to its wider context in the European realm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]