- UPA Strategic Affairs
- Vol: 4 Issue: 2 - Türkiye Özel sayısı
- MOMENTARY PARTNERS: THE LIMITATIONS OF THE GREEK-TURKISH DISASTER DIPLOMACY IN 2023
MOMENTARY PARTNERS: THE LIMITATIONS OF THE GREEK-TURKISH DISASTER DIPLOMACY IN 2023
Authors : Nikolaos Stelgias
Pages : 31-55
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Publication Date : 2023-08-31
Article Type : Research Article
Abstract :In February 2023, major earthquakes struck the southern part of Türkiye, while significant tensions in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean dominated the Greek-Turkish relations. A few weeks later, dozens of civilians were killed when a train overturned in Tempe, Greece. Greece was among the first countries to aid Türkiye after the earthquakes and Türkiye reciprocated by expressing its condolences to Greece for the great train accident. Thus, 24 years after the 1999 earthquakes in Greece and Türkiye, which triggered the first wave of disaster diplomacy between the two countries, a new opportunity for dialogue and cooperation emerged in 2023. This paper intents to review two waves of Greek-Turkish disaster diplomacy in 1999 and 2023 with the aim of establishing their correspondence to the theory of disaster diplomacy. It also intends to compare two waves and point out similarities and differences. Moreover, the paper intends to argue that disaster itself does not lead to new diplomatic initiatives. As it is evident in the case of Greek-Turkish relations after the two waves of disaster diplomacy, cooperation can help build trust and goodwill between countries. Nevertheless, if disaster diplomacy does not develop into something more than a tactical diplomatic move and if the countries do not rush to instrumentalize the brief window of opportunity offered by the disasters, then the accumulated problems are expected to overshadow the attempts of building a long-lasting cooperation once again.Keywords : Türkiye, Yunanistan, Afet diplomasisi, Diyalog, İş birliği