GEOPOLITICS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN: GEOGRAPHICAL AND IDENTITY REALITIES IN AND BEYOND THE MARE NOSTRUM Nuno Morgado INTRODUCTION This article zooms in on the Mediterranean region with the objective of describing a set of geographical and identity realities which impact the foreign policy conduct of European countries located in the area. Knowing these realities means, therefore, a better understanding of the considered states’ behaviour. The structure of the text is circular, inspired by the outlines of the Mediterranean Sea resembling a very imperfect oval shape. The article starts with Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean and then covers the west, Greece, Italy, Malta, France, Spain, and Portugal. These countries form the EuroMed 7 Group, an informal alliance within the European Union. However, the text also includes a reference to the UK, a country with bases in both Gibraltar and Cyprus, thus returning the reader to the east of the sea. The article is a collection of case studies, unified by the theoretical–methodological framework of neoclassical geopolitics.1
Member states of the EuroMed 7 Group
FRANCE PORTUGAL ITALY SPAIN
GREECE Mediterranean Sea
MALTA
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POLITICS
CYPRUS
CYPRUS Among the EU countries located in the Mediterranean, Cyprus is the one that seems to deal with the most severe problems from the point of view of political and military stability. The “far eastern” position of that island on the sea, in a transition area between Europe and the Middle East, certainly contributed—and still does—to that fact. The island—located in a place that was under the consecutive control of the Roman and Byzantine Emperors, the Crusaders and the King of Jerusalem, the Ottoman sultan, and the British Crown—is today divided into two “countries”: the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognised only by Turkey). This division was a result of the persistent resentment between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots—brother communities in a sole nation that speaks two languages and practices two religions—which was worsened by fratricide attacks during the 1960s and 1970s and subsequent evictions and population exchanges between the north and south. The resentment out of all these tragic events still persists, blocking the path to the island’s reunification, and, all things being equal, they do not seem to give any sign of disappearing in the next years. Consequently, there could not be too much expectation about recent efforts by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in this respect. 2 Moreover, the island also needs to deal with further complications, meaning that roughly 35% of its territory is occupied by the Turkish army, which backs up the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and, thus, the island keeps facing major struggles to achieve political and social stability. 3 Nicosia remains the last divided capital
