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11. The East Mediterranean Gas Forum: Regional Cooperation Amid Conflicting Interests

Author:
Mona Sukkarieh
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
The discovery of sizable natural gas reserves off the coasts of Cyprus, Egypt and Israel over the past decade has revealed a promising resource potential in the Eastern Mediterranean and at the same time challenges in converting part of this potential into exploitable commodities. The discovery of gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean added a new layer of complexity to a region already marred with decades-old conflicts. Amid increasingly competitive gas markets the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) offers a platform to coordinate efforts among the various players in the region to lower costs and improve regional integration. The author of this paper starts by providing a quick overview of the EMGF, its objectives and internal working mechanisms, and its first efforts to assess– with the aim of improving– prospects for monetization. The author then explores the geopolitical dynamics with a focus on mapping perceptions of threats emanating from various regional actors, as these dynamics have played a role in the establishment and membership of the Forum. In the third and last part, the author focuses on bringing offshore Eastern Mediterranean gas to market.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Natural Resources, and Gas
Political Geography:
Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, and Mediterranean

12. Ahead of the five-party meeting: Convergences and bridgeable differences towards the reunification of Cyprus

Author:
George Kalpadakis
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:
The prospect of achieving a bizonal, bicommunal federal solution to the Cyprus problem was dealt a blow in the summer of 2017 when the unification talks between the two sides were suspended. The deterioration of the climate since then and the concomitant danger of abandoning the UN framework for a solution amid Turkey’s and the T/C side’s apparent insistence on a two-state solution, underscores the necessity to sketch out the convergences that have reportedly been achieved as well as the most significant issues on which the divergences appear to be bridgeable. Ahead of the upcoming informal five-party meeting on the Cyprus issue and the challenge of “rebooting” Crans Montana, this paper briefly outlines these issues based on a recently released UN document, indicating that they form an integral part of the elusive signposts towards a final settlement. Moreover, it refers to a number of ongoing and new civil society initiatives in support of peace and reunification.
Topic:
United Nations, Negotiation, Peace, Reconciliation, and Reunification
Political Geography:
Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, and Mediterranean

13. Two-state solution: A radical shift in the Cypriot conflict

Author:
Al Jazeera Center for Studies
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Al Jazeera Center for Studies
Abstract:
Turkey supported Northern Cyprus’s call for a two-state solution to the nearly half-decade-old conflict on the island due to the the failure of negotiations over the past years on the federal solution and geopolitical changes in the eastern Mediterranean.
Topic:
Geopolitics, Military Intervention, Conflict, and Negotiation
Political Geography:
Cyprus and Mediterranean

14. Between Geopolitics and Geoeconomics: The Growing Role of Gulf States in the Eastern Mediterranean

Author:
Adel Abdel Ghafar
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The role played by countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Eastern Mediterranean is becoming increasingly important. This calls for an assessment of their evolving relationship with countries in the region, as well as their involvement in the Libyan conflict. Increased involvement by Gulf actors may inflame existing regional rivalries and geopolitical tensions. The interests of GCC countries in the Eastern Mediterranean are first analysed in the broader context of regional rivalries. Special attention is then devoted to Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Greece and Cyprus, while considering the role of other key regional actors such as Turkey and Israel. Recommendations on why and how the new US administration should intervene to decrease regional tensions are provided. Paper prepared in the framework of the IAI-Eni Strategic Partnership, January 2021.
Topic:
Economics, Geopolitics, and Rivalry
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, Israel, Greece, Libya, Lebanon, Egypt, Cyprus, Mediterranean, and Gulf Nations

15. Gendered Impacts on Operational Effectiveness of UN Peace Operations

Author:
Robert U. Nagel, Kate Fin, and Julia Maenza
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
Currently, women are underrepresented in peacekeeping. As of January 2021, women make up fewer than 5% of all military personnel, 11% of personnel in formed police units, and 28% of individual police officers on peacekeeping missions. And yet, the authors find that across various missions, women’s participation improves community engagement and changes the narrative of women’s roles in society. The report offers recommendations on how gender mainstreaming and the integration of local perspectives can improve operational effectiveness, along with recommendations for better data collection policies and practices. This study is based on 78 interviews of mission personnel from three ongoing UN PKOs in Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Lebanon, along with civil society actors, and a comprehensive review of personnel data, strategy, policy, and standard operating procedure documents related to operational effectiveness.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, Participation, and Gender
Political Geography:
Lebanon, Cyprus, Global Focus, and Congo

16. Greece, Cyprus, and the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

Author:
Gabriel Mitchell
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:
For decades, the US operated as the central mediator between Israel and the Palestinians. However, after decades of stalled negotiations, it is likely that future peacemaking efforts will be multilateral, reliant on an orchestra of international actors who can support specific processes that, in concert, could encourage Israelis and Palestinians to reapproach one another. This piece examines the role of Greece and Cyprus, two regional actors whose strategic relationship with Israel has strengthened over the last decade, could help advance peace. Though secondary players in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there are concrete ways that both states – if invited by the central parties – could contribute to a more conducive environment for cooperation and dialogue.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Diplomacy, International Affairs, Negotiation, and Peace
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Greece, Palestine, and Cyprus

17. The evolving gender gap in labor force participation during COVID-19

Author:
Simeon Djankov, Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, Lisa Hyland, and Eva (Yiwen) Zhang
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:
Despite many significant gains by women in the paid workforce in recent decades, the percentage of women participating in the labor force has remained lower than the percentage of male participants. Now, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic downturn it precipitated, the gap in labor force participation between men and women in some economies has actually widened, with potentially damaging repercussions for women’s career prospects and pay. The pandemic has disproportionately affected sectors employing more women, such as retail stores, restaurants, and the hotel and hospitality business. An increase in family caregiving responsibilities because of school and childcare closures has also fallen on working mothers' shoulders. Both factors have pulled women out of the labor force. The authors track trends in male and female labor force participation in 43 countries and find substantial differences across countries in the way women’s participation has been affected relative to that of men. In some countries, such as Colombia, Chile, and Cyprus, the gender gap in labor force participation widened the most during the pandemic. The gender gap also widened in the United States, driving 2.5 million women from their jobs in what Vice President Kamala Harris called a “national emergency” for women. In other economies, such as Luxembourg and Lithuania, the gender gap in labor force participation, unexpectedly, shrank during the early period of the pandemic. On average, female employees have fared better in countries where women are less concentrated in the services sector, less likely to be employed as temporary workers, and where laws supported greater equality at the onset of the crisis. Greater government expenditure on childcare in the pre-COVID-19 era, however, does not appear to have insulated female workers from the damaging repercussions of the pandemic.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Women, Services, COVID-19, and Empowerment
Political Geography:
Colombia, Chile, Cyprus, Global Focus, and United States of America

18. One Step Towards Reconciliation In Cyprus: Perceptions of the ‘Other’ for the Families of Missing Persons

Author:
Hasibe Şahoğlu
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
By the end of the inter-ethnic conflict in 1974, there were over 2000 people who were reported as missing in Cyprus. Since 2005, with the efforts of the Committee of Missing Persons (CMP), 870 remains of the missing persons have been discovered, exhumed and returned back to their families. Although there exist several studies focusing on disappearances during violent conflicts, there is a dearth of academic research that investigates the reconciliation at the grassroots level, particularly for the families of the missing persons. The aims of this paper are twofold. Utilizing twenty two in-depth interviews with the families of Greek and Turkish Cypriots who experienced ‘ambiguous losses’ in the 1963 and 1974 conflicts in Cyprus, the paper firstly aims at improving the understandings of how disappearances shape the perceptions of ‘the other’ group in a post-conflict society. Secondly, the paper also aims to investigate the potential role of CMP on trust building and reconciliation efforts in Cyprus. The paper reveals that there is a subtle step forward for reconciliation among the families of missing persons, which were clear in the narratives of the families who started showing empathy towards the other. While both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots showed very little hatred towards each other and noted that there were no problems at the individual level, they continued to blame the politicians and radical groups for their losses. The opening of borders and the contributions of the Committee of Missing Persons (CMP) in reducing the pain of relatives and helping to bond relations in line with trust building and reconciliation efforts were also acknowledged by both sides.
Topic:
Conflict, Disappearance, Reconciliation, and Missing Persons
Political Geography:
Cyprus and Mediterranean

19. Taking the EU out of the EastMed pipeline quagmire

Author:
Sofia López Piqueres
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Policy Centre (EPC)
Abstract:
The recent escalating tensions between Greece and the Republic of Cyprus on the one hand and Turkey on the other have shown how contentious the issue of energy is in the Eastern Mediterranean. The planned EastMed pipeline is a case in point. But, paradoxically, adopting a ‘selective engagement’ approach and focusing on the energy and climate dimensions of the countries’ relations could be a starting point to rebuild trust. A discussion on the future of the EastMed project, in particular, could present an opportunity to get all parties at the table and diffuse the situation. To play a constructive role in this, the EU must act in the spirit of the Green Deal and stop investing in the EastMed pipeline, and find ways to encourage Greece, Cyprus and Turkey to make the shift to renewables now and ditch offshore gas exploration altogether.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Oil, Gas, Renewable Energy, and Pipeline
Political Geography:
Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, and Mediterranean

20. Structural Shifts and Regional Security: A View from Israel

Author:
Ehud Eiran
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Israel is still holding to its traditional security maxim. Based on a perception of a hostile region, Israel’s response includes early warning, deterrence and swift – including pre-emptive – military action, coupled with an alliance with a global power, the US. Israel is adjusting these maxims to a changing reality. Overlapping interests – and perhaps the prospect of an even more open conflict with Iran – led to limited relationships between Israel and some Gulf states. These, however, will be constrained until Israel makes progress on the Palestine issue. Israel aligned with Greece and Cyprus around energy and security, which may lead to conflict with Turkey. Russia’s deployment in Syria placed new constraints on Israeli freedom of action there. The US’s retrenchment from the Middle East is not having a direct effect on Israel, while the Trump administration’s support for Israel’s territorial designs in the West Bank may make it easier for Israel to permanently expand there, thus sowing the seeds for future instability in Israel/Palestine. The EU could try and balance against such developments, but, as seen from Israel, is too divided to have a significant impact. Paper produced in the framework of the FEPS-IAI project “Fostering a New Security Architecture in the Middle East”, April 2020.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Gas, and Hezbollah
Political Geography:
Russia, Iran, Middle East, Israel, Greece, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, United States of America, and Mediterranean