"Turkish EU Membership's Possible Impacts on the Mediterranean, Balkans, Black Sea Rims and Russia
Sedat LACINER
I. THE DIVIDEDNESS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN AND TURKEY�S FULL MEMBERSHIP
Until the last days of the Roman Empire, the Mediterranean was a sea that attached the lands to its north and south, in other words, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. In this respect, ancient Greek and Roman civilizations are more Mediterranean than European and these civilizations maintained their security by developing their Mediterranean vision. To put it differently, security cannot be attained by neglecting either the south or the north of the Mediterranean. The formation of the Arab/Islamic state on the south and Christian kingdoms to the north severed the Mediterranean with rigid borders. As seen in the Crusades, the Islam-Christianity divide caused century-lasting clashes and a permanent security problem. This confirms that so long as the Mediterranean�s fraction continues, considerable threats to peace are going to linger on."
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