Strategic Rebalancing in the Contested Global Order
The United States’ Cost–Benefit Analysis of Foreign Policy Regarding Greece and Türkiye in the Eastern Mediterranean
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6048050 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Vildan Meydan (0000-0001-8835-3465, Hitit Üniversitesi, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 363-382 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-25 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Comparative Southeast European Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2701-8199 • E-ISSN: 2701-8202 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/soeu-2024-0065 |
| OpenAlex | W7105693088 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 18 |
This article examines the evolution of the United States’ balancing strategies toward Türkiye and Greece using Kai He’s concepts of positive and negative balancing. Türkiye’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile system came with strategic and political costs, while Greece has emerged as a more reliable partner, offering expanded military access and normative alignment. The author conceptualizes cost–benefit analysis as a strategic logic shaped by global and domestic political dynamics. Drawing on rationalist and neoclassical realist theories, the author shows how the United States has increasingly pursued positive balancing in its foreign policy toward Greece and negative balancing toward Türkiye – reflecting shifting assessments of partner reliability and strategic value. The author concludes that US policy has been guided by material calculations such as cohesion, deterrence, and access, but that these are increasingly filtered through normative concerns including illiberalism, alliance credibility, and the coherence of the international order
Alliance · Coherence (philosophical gambling strategy · Foreign policy · Global strategy · Hegemony · International relations · Normative · Politics · Contemporary and Historical Greek Studies · Cyprus History, Politics, Society · Turkey's Politics and Society
The United States and Greek-Turkish Relations
Conflicts and Global Powers in the Eastern Mediterranean. An Introduction
Turkish foreign policy at the nexus of changing international and regional dynamics
Dynamic Balancing
Alliance Formation and the Balance of World Power
Neoclassical Realism and Theories of Foreign Policy
The Security Dilemma in Alliance Politics
International Legitimacy Lost? Rule and Resistance When America Is First
Rationalist explanations for war
Taking Preferences Seriously
The concept of a middle power in international relations
Undermining Adversaries
Emerging middle powers and the liberal international order
The end of liberal international order
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |