Turkey and Israel: Changing Patterns of Alliances in the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

Focusing on Turkey and Israel, this paper aims to analyse the changing alliance patterns in the Eastern Mediterranean in the post-Cold War period. It concentrates on the aeuro similar to alliance politicsaeuro (TM) in the region that the overwhelming power and presence of the United States (US) has been challenged by the recovering Russia, the emerging China and the EU penetration. The transformation of the relations between these two key American allies in the region in response to geopolitical changes that the Arab Spring brought is of particular significance. The paper deals with this in the three interrelated contexts: their reactions to the break-up of states in Iraq and Syria; their policies towards energy discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean; the impact of their relations on the overall stability and peace in the region.