EDITORIAL

John M Nomikos
(RIEAS Executive Director)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 30 August 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies

The recent friction between Greece and Saudi Arabia should neither be inflated into a rupture nor dismissed as an administrative misunderstanding. What is taking place is more subtle:
Riyadh appears to be drawing the conceptual boundaries of its relationship with Athens.

Saudi Arabia is not turning Greece into an adversary. But it is demonstrating that its partnership with Greece does not amount to strategic alignment against Turkey, does not give Athens
privileged influence over Saudi regional choices and, above all, does not make Greece indispensable.... Read more

Prof. Dr. Darko Trifunovic
(RIEAS Director of International Relations, Director and Founder, Institute for National and International Security (INIS) and Editor -in-Chief, Security Science Journal)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 30 August 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies

The possibility of a future military confrontation between Turkey and Israel should no longer be examined exclusively through the prism of inflammatory political rhetoric. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's increasingly hostile discourse toward Israel is important, but rhetoric alone does not constitute evidence of an intention to wage war. A serious security assessment requires something different: identifying and interpreting political, military, geographical, ideological, economic, and alliance-related indicators that, when examined together, may reveal the gradual creation of conditions under which confrontation becomes possible.... Read more

Demetrios Tsailas (ret Admiral)
(He has taught for many years, operational planning, strategy, and security, to senior officers at the Supreme Joint War College. He is a member and researcher of the Institute for National and International Security)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 30 August 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies

Summary

The Eastern Mediterranean is entering a more consequential phase of strategic competition. What has historically been presented as a collection of Greek-Turkish disputes over maritime boundaries, Cyprus, airspace, and energy resources is increasingly developing into a wider contest over the rules governing maritime space, regional security, European sovereignty, and the cohesion of NATO.... Read more

Cognitive warfare has reached the Eastern Mediterranean, and much of the answer to it is already European.

Celia D. Hanley
(Founder and President of Catalina Intelligent Solutions LLC (CatalinaIQ). A former Senior Operations Officer of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency, with over forty years in clandestine operations, counterintelligence, and international security, she now develops cognitive security and risk mitigation programs for private-sector, government, and academic audiences).

All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the U.S. Government. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying U.S. Government authentication of information or endorsement of the author’s views.

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 14 August 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies

A migrant surge builds at a European land border, organized not by desperation alone but by a neighboring state that decided to open the gate. GPS signals fall across civilian airspace over the Eastern Mediterranean. An undersea cable is severed. A manufactured story about a national leader spread faster than any correction can chase it. In most ministries, and most newspapers, each of these is filed as a separate problem: migration, aviation safety, infrastructure protection, disinformation. ... Read more

John M Nomikos
(RIEAS Director)

Copyright: @ 2025 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 11 August 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Re-search Institute for European and American Studies

In 18 March 2015, I travelled to Jaipur, India to participate in an international conference on “Counterterrorism” organized by the Indian Foundation and I delivered an analysis on “illegal Migration, Organized Crime and Human Trafficking in Greece”.

During the conference, I created a network with Indian academicians, military, law -enforcement and security professionals that assisted me to comprehend the idiosyncrasies of the security envi-ronment regarding the complexities of the geoeconomic and geopolitical Indian military, security and political affairs. ... Read more

Evangelia Akritidou
(RIEAS Senior Analyst)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 11 August 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies

Introduction

Europe has rediscovered the Western Balkans. What was long treated as a slow and largely technical enlargement process has returned to the geopolitical agenda. Russia's war against Ukraine, growing instability across Europe's southern neighbourhood and renewed debates over European defence have reminded policymakers that the continent's security will also be shaped by developments beyond the EU's current borders. Enlargement is therefore increasingly understood not simply as an institutional process, but as an investment in Europe's long-term security.... Read more