Kostas Ifantis – författare

Featuring an outstanding international line-up of contributors, this edited volume offers a timely examination of two of the most crucial and controversial issues in international relations, namely the evolution of particular concepts of multilateralism and whether international security institutions are the objects of state choice and/or consequential. The book combines a variety of theoretical perspectives with detailed empirical examples. The subjects covered include: the development and contemporary application of the concept of multilateralism American foreign and security policy in the post 9/11 era (unilateralism vs. multilateralism) humanitarian intervention and liberal peace case studies of a variety of security institutions including the EU, UN and NATO a broad selection of geographical examples from North America, Europe and Asia This book is a significant contribution to the contemporary debate on multilateralism and the effects of multilateral security institutions and will be of great interest to scholars of international relations and security studies.

Featuring an outstanding international line-up of contributors, this edited volume offers a timely examination of two of the most crucial and controversial issues in international relations, namely the evolution of particular concepts of multilateralism and whether international security institutions are the objects of state choice and/or consequential. The book combines a variety of theoretical perspectives with detailed empirical examples. The subjects covered include: the development and contemporary application of the concept of multilateralism American foreign and security policy in the post 9/11 era (unilateralism vs. multilateralism) humanitarian intervention and liberal peace case studies of a variety of security institutions including the EU, UN and NATO a broad selection of geographical examples from North America, Europe and Asia This book is a significant contribution to the contemporary debate on multilateralism and the effects of multilateral security institutions and will be of great interest to scholars of international relations and security studies.

Enlargement to Turkey is arguably the greatest challenge facing the European Union today. After the narrowly averted "train crash" over Cyprus in 2006, the second election victory of the Justice and Development Party in July 2007 opened new prospects for Turkish-EU relations. But in an EU emphasising a collective identity based on shared civilisational values, Turkey’s European credentials have been increasingly called into question. Amending national identity through political change has become the key to the success or failure of the Turkish integration project. This volume examines the EU role in strengthening the domestic pro-reform coalition within Turkey, the paradox - and potential limits - of Turkey’s europeanising Islamists, and the impact of Europeanisation through conditionality, including a case study of Turkish policy towards the Cyprus Question. Also addressed are the Western stereotypes of Turkish identity influencing the country’s EU prospects, notably concerning the role of Islam in precipitating acts of political violence and its association with sexual and political violence in the discourse of European opponents of Turkish accession. Finally, the dynamics of EU accession negotiations are analysed and the potential role of a norm-driven rhetorical strategy in promoting Turkish accession as a moral and democratic imperative is discussed.

Enlargement to Turkey is arguably the greatest challenge facing the European Union today. After the narrowly averted "train crash" over Cyprus in 2006, the second election victory of the Justice and Development Party in July 2007 opened new prospects for Turkish-EU relations. But in an EU emphasising a collective identity based on shared civilisational values, Turkey’s European credentials have been increasingly called into question. Amending national identity through political change has become the key to the success or failure of the Turkish integration project. This volume examines the EU role in strengthening the domestic pro-reform coalition within Turkey, the paradox - and potential limits - of Turkey’s europeanising Islamists, and the impact of Europeanisation through conditionality, including a case study of Turkish policy towards the Cyprus Question. Also addressed are the Western stereotypes of Turkish identity influencing the country’s EU prospects, notably concerning the role of Islam in precipitating acts of political violence and its association with sexual and political violence in the discourse of European opponents of Turkish accession. Finally, the dynamics of EU accession negotiations are analysed and the potential role of a norm-driven rhetorical strategy in promoting Turkish accession as a moral and democratic imperative is discussed.

The discord between Turkey and Greece has grown deeper and wider over time, over a series of seemingly vital issues, which have at times brought the two countries to the brink of war. Yet in 1999 the two countries opened a dialogue on non-sensitive issues such as trade, the environment and tourism.The causes of the current rapprochement progress are explored in this book in relation both to the international environment which is increasingly conducive to this progress, and the significant domestic changes that both Greece and Turkey have experienced since the end of the Cold War. This book confronts each of these important dimensions by addressing issues of continuity and change in Greek-Turkish relations.

This book provides an overview of the complex and turbulent relations between Greece and Turkey, focusing on recent developments and the challenges in their bilateral relationship. It draws on a comprehensive array of international relations theories to suggest that sources of instability in the Aegean are found in security relations, identity and cultural discourses, and patriarchal and class societal structures. The chapters reflect on several questions about the role and significance of constitutive and non-constitutive elements in the Greek-Turkish policy and social arenas. They offer a better understanding of the bilateral interaction and why the Greek-Turkish relationship continue to hold the potential for traditional geopolitical antagonism and conflict, as well as why it is so hard to escape a security culture of hopelessly unresolved problems, enduring security dilemmas, crisis-prone geopolitics.The chapters in this book discuss the historical context, including attempts at reconciliation, and examine the role of perceptions, geopolitics, and historical grievances in shaping the current situation. The book emphasizes the cyclical nature of relations, with periods of calm followed by tensions and crises. It highlights the need for a comprehensive approach to resolve the existing disputes, including the importance of confidence-building measures and a political settlement. Overall, the book underlines the complexity of Greek-Turkish relations and the challenges in achieving lasting peace and stability in the region.This book is aimed at scholars, policymakers, and students in the fields of international relations, political science, and security studies.The chapters in this book, except for Chapter 8, were published as a special issue of Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies. Chapter 8 was originally published in Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.