The Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean (BSEM) Region and BRI: Macro-historical Tendencies and Geopolitical Models of Analysis

The paper aims at examining the BRI through the lenses of History and Classical Geopolitics, in an attempt to evaluate the role of the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean region in it and particularly Greece’s position. Notwithstanding the optimism emanating from the prospective economic benefits from the region’s participation in BRI, observations based on historical and geopolitical narratives suggest that the countries of the region (Greece, of course, included) need to exercise caution as regards the extent of their commitment to BRI, as this is a region on which Great Powers of the past have oftentimes focused to block East–West Eurasian integration efforts of the past.