Is Greece the new rising Middle Eastern power that nobody is talking about? Sean Mathews’ The New Byzantines: The Rise of Greece and Return of the Near East makes the bold case that the Hellenic state is reembracing its Middle Eastern roots and is an emerging power who is playing a crucial role in dealing with a ‘revisionist’ Turkyie, America’s wavering commitment to NATO, Israel’s search for new allies and throwing its weight behind Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Mathews makes interesting arguments about why Athens is a growing regional power; however, some of the reasons he cites that account for the rise also risk stalling it and it may be the case that we will look back on this […]
