Introduction

Chapter
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Abstract

This chapter 1, the introduction, provides the general framework of Greek foreign policy within which the rapprochement with Israel was pursued. In many ways, it was defined by the acute sovereign debt crisis that Greece faced. It is thus explained that Greek diplomacy was substantially weakened on a variety of fronts. Nevertheless, Athens managed to retain its membership in key international organizations and frameworks. The result was the pursuit of a foreign policy characterized mostly by continuity and steady goals towards the European Union (EU), the USA, Turkey, Cyprus, and the Balkans. This provided for a degree of much needed stability, but it also constrained the undertaking of any new and potentially “game changing” initiatives that would allow the addressing of the regional development that was at the very center of concerns in Athens: the impressive rise of Turkish economic power and geopolitical ambitions at a time of relative Greek decline. As the fundamentals of the Greek economy were fast deteriorating (a fact that was not made entirely public and was perhaps not appreciated in its full magnitude until 2009–2010), Athens pursued a multifaceted shift and reorientation in its relations with Moscow in the realms of energy, military procurement, and economics. However, almost every single initiative on this front proved a failure. Nevertheless, immediately after the Russian debacle and while the debt crisis was percolating, Athens’ relations with Jerusalem were transformed.

Keywords

European Union Debt Crisis Bilateral Relation North Atlantic Treaty Organization Sovereign Debt Crisis 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.AthensGreece

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