Strategy International highlights the recent participation of our Junior Scholar (Gulf Affairs), Dr. Minas Lyristis, in the conference organised by the new School of Law & Governance of Mediterranean College, entitled “The World in Transition: War, Revisionism and the Role of Greece in a New International System.”
The event brought together distinguished academics, diplomats, defence analysts and specialists in international affairs to discuss the geopolitical transformations currently affecting Greece, the Eastern Mediterranean, European security and the wider international system. The conference included contributions by Professor Spyros Vliamos, President of the Academic Council and Scientific Committee of Mediterranean College; Nikiforos Diamandouros, President of the Academy of Athens; Yannis Valinakis, Professor of International Relations and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Yannis Karkazis, Professor Emeritus at the University of the Aegean; Antonis Zairis, Assistant Professor at Neapolis University Pafos and former Director General for International Development Cooperation at the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs; as well as Lydia Veneri, PhD Candidate in International Law, with the discussion moderated by Robert Pefanis.
In his intervention, Dr. Lyristis focused on the threats Greece faces in the Eastern Mediterranean, arguing that Greek strategy cannot be analysed solely through the narrow lens of bilateral tensions. He underlined that the Eastern Mediterranean has become a complex strategic environment where maritime power, energy routes, military presence, legal claims and competing understandings of sovereignty intersect. Within this context, Greece is required to operate through a coherent combination of deterrence, diplomacy, alliances and institutional legitimacy.
Dr. Lyristis also addressed Greece’s relations with the State of Israel and examined whether existing agreements and strategic convergences are genuinely mutually beneficial. He noted that the relationship with Israel has significant value in the fields of defence, technology, intelligence, energy and regional security. At the same time, he emphasised that every strategic relationship must be continuously assessed in terms of reciprocity, political cost, institutional durability and Greece’s ability to maintain broader channels of communication and cooperation with the Arab world.
Particular attention was also given to Greece’s relations with the countries of the Arab-Persian Gulf. Dr. Lyristis argued that the Gulf should be approached as a region of growing strategic weight, strong financial mechanisms, energy influence and expanding diplomatic autonomy. For Greece, the deepening of relations with Gulf states can act as a multiplier of influence, provided that it is embedded in a coherent foreign policy framework and not reduced to episodic diplomatic engagement.
The discussion concluded with a methodological reflection on the distinction between international relations analysis and a simple political position. Dr. Lyristis stressed that international relations analysis is not an exercise in confirming preferences, but a disciplined effort to clarify concepts, examine evidence and distinguish between description, interpretation and normative judgement. This distinction is particularly important in public debate, where strategic issues are often approached through political predispositions rather than analytical categories.
This participation reflects Strategy International’s commitment to rigorous, evidence-based analysis of international and regional developments of strategic importance, with particular attention to Greece’s role, the evolving security architecture of the Eastern Mediterranean and the broader geopolitical dynamics shaping the international system.
