Gas & Gunboats in the Eastern Mediterranean: The next conflict at Europe's doorstep?

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• Demetrius Floudas, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge
• Monday 10 June 2019, 17:30-19:45
• Seminar Room B, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact D. A. Floudas.

A wine reception will follow the lecture

Monday 10 June 2019, 5:30 for 5:45 pm

Seminar Room B, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge

The growing standoff between Turkey and Cyprus over energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean runs the risk of turning into a regional conflict.

For years, there was hope that gas fields under the eastern Mediterranean Sea would usher in peace and prosperity in a volatile region. But a string of recent deals and gas finds have revealed deep geopolitical fault lines. Recent developments in the area have heightened tensions in what has been perennially a sensitive flashpoint. Several countries around the littoral are increasingly flexing their muscles in energy exploration and adopting the gunboat diplomacy of constant naval drills.

Analysing the facts behind the headlines, Demetrius A. Floudas, Associate of Hughes Hall, furnishes a fascinating insight into this topical issue and attempts to present an analysis of the following parameters:

• Is Turkey really a revisionist power, seeking to create a ‘neo-Ottoman’ sphere of influence?

• To what extent is the Greek side convinced that Turkey’s aggressive actions in Cyprus’s EEZ in the Aegean aim to establish de facto situations at the expense of the sovereign rights of both Cyprus and Greece?

• Does the continued Israel-Egypt energy and security cooperation constitute part of a rising regional challenge for Turkey?

• Are Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Egypt moving closer to a mutilateral defence pact in order to curb the aspirations of a regionally powerful Turkey?

• Does Russian foreign policy covertly foment these tensions, in order to create potential friction within NATO ?

• Is there a relationship between the rising tensions and the recent settlement in the naming dispute over North Macedonia, after three decades of fruitless attempts?

• Does the situation help or hinder a potential solution to the divided Cyprus problem?

• How does the continued Syrian civil war fit into this turmoil?

Doors open at 5.30 pm Talk at 5.45 pm, followed by discussion and a drinks reception at 6.45 pm.

About the speaker:

Demetrius A. Floudas is Associate of Hughes Hall, a Fellow of the Hellenic Institute of Foreign and International Law and an Adjunct Professor at the Law Faculty of Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University in Russia..

In addition, D. Floudas has provided commentary on matters of Foreign Affairs & International Relations to a number of international think-tanks, with his views frequently appearing on the media worldwide (BBC, Voice of America, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, Washington Post, Vedomosti, RIA -Novosti, and others).

He is the author of a number of research articles and op-ed pieces on the Prespa Agreement.

The lecture will be followed by refreshments

This talk is open to all members of the University, upon prior registration:

PLEASE REGISTER THROUGH THE FOLLOWING LINK ONLY :

https://floudaseastmed10jun19hughes.eventbrite.co.uk

Additional Information may be obtained by writing to:

The  Programmes Manager, Hughes Hall

University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB1 2EW

Email: programmes.manager@hughes.cam.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 1223 746367

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This talk is part of the Centre for Research in Contemporary Problems series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• * Centre for Research in Contemporary Problems - Consolidated Seminar List *
• Centre for Research in Contemporary Problems
• Hughes Hall Graduate Law Society seminar series
• Seminar Room B, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge

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