By Constandine Patronidis*, International Relations Expert
The discovery of natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean has the potential to spur an energy boom in the region, which could act as a catalyst in uniting the divided island of Cyprus; but, this phenomenon has further created tension between two states in the region, the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, the illegal occupiers of northern Cyprus. This may have contributed to the recent stalled peace negotiations in 2017, in which Turkey was adamant on retaining its nearing five-decade presence on the island. The objective of this thesis is to argue that Turkey, and its contemporary foreign policy towards the Republic of Cyprus, has a hostile nature and poses as a threat to regional stability.
*Constandine Patronidis recently graduated from the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki with a master’s in International Public Administration. Prior to that, he completed with honours his undergraduate degree from the University of Guelph in Canada in Political Science. Constandine is a Canadian of Greek heritage and is fluent in Greek and English. His main research interests lie in diplomacy, armed conflict and nationalism & identity. He has been an intern at the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy(ELIAMEP) based in Athens, Greece in 2019. In addition, he has interned at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nicosia, Cyprus in 2017. Constandine has been employed in a variety of fields ranging from marketing, life sciences, restaurants, sports and education. Ideally, Constandine’s future plans involve working in an international organization or an NGO.
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