Intelligence Squared

Is Greece Becoming the New Borderland Between East and West? With Sean Matthews

January 19, 2026

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  • Greece's geopolitical identity is shifting from a Western-aligned state back toward the East, driven by the decline of Western powers and the rise of new Middle Eastern actors. 
  • The historical rivalry between Greece and Turkey remains central to Greek foreign policy, with the balance of power currently shifting in Turkey's favor due to its growing independence from the West. 
  • Greece's modern economic recovery, heavily reliant on tourism and real estate investment, is creating a significant internal cost-of-living crisis for ordinary Greek citizens. 

Segments

Title Rationale and East/West Pull
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(00:02:48)
  • Key Takeaway: The title “The New Byzantines” reflects Greece’s historical pull toward the East, which is reasserting itself after a post-19th-century focus on Western integration.
  • Summary: Since gaining independence in 1832, Greece was consistently pulled West by European powers and later NATO/EU integration. The author argues that current Western decline is causing a gravitational pull back toward the East, referencing its Byzantine and Ottoman past. This shift is evidenced by Greece’s geographical position on the periphery of Europe.
Ancient Myth vs. Middle Eastern Reality
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(00:04:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Western fascination with ancient Greece (columns, democracy) obscured its deeper historical connection to the wider Middle East, which is now resurfacing.
  • Summary: Antiquarian archaeologists emphasized ancient Greece, creating a myth of Western centrality. The Byzantine Empire, which preceded the Ottoman period, was an Eastern empire ruling over areas like Palestine, Syria, and Egypt. Modern Greek foreign policy issues, such as Cyprus and rivalry with Turkey, point toward its eastern direction.
Greece-Turkey Rivalry Dynamics
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(00:06:36)
  • Key Takeaway: The rivalry with Turkey defines Greek foreign policy, but the historical reliance on US intervention to check Turkish power is diminishing.
  • Summary: The modern Greek state was forged by taking territory from the Ottoman Empire, leading to ongoing conflict, notably after WWI. Greece and Turkey joined NATO simultaneously in 1952, but Turkey’s rise as an independent power is shifting the Eastern Mediterranean balance away from Greece. The reduced US role means external checks on tensions, like the 1996 island dispute, are less likely.
Greek-American Cultural Discovery
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(00:09:46)
  • Key Takeaway: Returning to Greece as a journalist revealed deep, overlooked cultural similarities between Greek customs and those of the wider Middle East.
  • Summary: The author, a Greek-American, initially saw no connection between his Americanized Greek upbringing and the Middle East. Traveling between Greece, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt revealed shared cultural elements like Baklava and Turkish coffee (renamed Greek coffee). Greeks share religious invocations similar to Arabic phrases like ‘Alhamdulillah’ or ‘Mashallah,’ anchoring the culture to the former Ottoman lands.
Tourism’s Role in Cultural Perception
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(00:11:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Tourism markets Greece as a ‘soft Middle East’ experience—offering Eastern flavors without the associated conflict—which contributes to local cost-of-living issues.
  • Summary: Western tourists often seek the taste of the East (like Ouzo/Arak) without the associated conflict, leading to Greece being described as ‘Lebanon without Hezbollah.’ Tourism and real estate investment were crucial to Greece’s economic recovery post-financial crisis, leading to a boom in Athens. This influx, however, is pricing out ordinary Greeks, creating a cost-of-living struggle.
2019 as a Trope-Smashing Pivot
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(00:15:41)
  • Key Takeaway: By 2019, old tropes of Greece as a socialist EU failure or a migrant-inundated nation were being dismantled by investment flows from the East.
  • Summary: Investment fueling Greece’s property and tourism boom was increasingly sourced from the Muslim world, including Israel, the UAE, and Turkey, contradicting scaremongering narratives. The UAE provided one of the largest single foreign direct investments in Greece, surpassing traditional Western partners like France or Germany. This demonstrates Greece’s deepening economic ties with the East, despite its EU membership.
Greece as a Cultural Borderland
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(00:17:51)
  • Key Takeaway: Greece functions like a porous border state where the Mediterranean acts as a connector rather than a dividing line between Europe and the Arab world.
  • Summary: The Mediterranean historically connected Greece to North Africa and Lebanon, a reality Westerners often overlook by viewing it as a hard border. Rising Eastern powers like Turkey and Gulf states are exposing Greece to the front lines of geopolitical shifts. The Eastern Aegean islands, like Chios, show stronger cultural connectivity to the East, evidenced by Mastic resin being popular in the Middle East but niche in the West.
Cyprus and Turkish Revisionism
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(00:29:36)
  • Key Takeaway: The failure to resolve the Cyprus conflict in the mid-2000s symbolized Turkey’s pivot away from the West and toward an independent Eastern power role.
  • Summary: The collapse of UN-sponsored talks regarding Cyprus signaled Turkey’s turn away from EU accession requirements. Turkey’s ongoing maritime disputes over exclusive economic zones in the Eastern Mediterranean, claiming areas around Greek islands, is a key aspect of its revisionism. Turkey also engages in a ‘shadow war’ influencing the Muslim minority in Greece’s northern borderlands.
Greece-Israel Alliance vs. Public Opinion
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(00:33:56)
  • Key Takeaway: The Greek government has forged a close military and strategic partnership with Israel, primarily driven by mutual concern over Turkish revisionism, despite significant public opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza.
  • Summary: The Greece-Israel partnership, initiated by the left-wing Tsipras government and strengthened by the current center-right government, focuses on military drills and defense deals against Turkey. Historically, Greece was hostile to Zionism but reversed course due to geopolitical necessity. The Greek Orthodox Church remains the second-largest landholder in Israel, creating tension between church property rights and the military alliance.
Three Eras of Modern Greek History
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(00:43:20)
  • Key Takeaway: Modern Greek history can be mapped across three distinct eras: nation-state formation (post-1821), post-war Western bastion (post-WWII), and current rejoining of the East.
  • Summary: The Greek Revolution began the quest for a nation-state backed by Western powers, influencing subsequent Balkan independence movements. After WWII, Greece became a bastion of US power projection, marking the start of American post-war intervention (Truman Doctrine). Today, due to instability in the West and rising Eastern powers, Greece is reorienting its alliances while still clinging to NATO and the US presence.