Arms Racing, Military Build-Ups and Dispute Intensity: Evidence from the Greek-Turkish Rivalry, 1985-2020

Arms races are linked in the public conscience to potential violence. Following gas discoveries in eastern Mediterranean, Greece and Turkey nearly came to blows in August 2020 and both states have enacted military expansion plans, further risking escalation. We present a novel approach to study the effect of military build-ups on dispute intensity, using monthly data on Turkish incursions into Greek-claimed airspace. Because airspace claims feature strongly in the dispute, these contestations represent an appropriate measure of the intensity with which Turkey pursues the conflict. Theoretically, we suggest that bilateral factors drive this intensity. We argue that increased Greek military capabilities deter incursions whereas increased Turkish military capabilities fuel them. Results from time-series models support the second expectation. Consequently, the study provides a novel methodological approach to studying interstate conflict intensity and shines new light on escalation dynamics in the Greek-Turkish dispute

Development of a test-bench control for piezoelectric actuators’ characterization

261 σ.Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία πραγματεύεται την ανάπτυξη πειραματικής διάταξης για τον χαρακτηρισμό πιεζοηλεκτρικών υλικών. Η ολοένα και αυξανόμενη ζήτηση για μια άμεση και αξιόπιστη διαδικασία χαρακτηρισμού πιεζοηλεκτρικών υλικών οδήγησε στην ανάγκη ανάπτυξης μιας πειραματικής διάταξης, η οποία θα μπορεί να πραγματοποιήσει μετρήσεις υστέρησης (hysteresis) και ερπυσμού (creep) των πιεζοηλεκτρικών υλικών μεταξύ των λειτουργιών της. Η διάταξη που αναπτύχθηκε θα χρησιμοποιηθεί μεταξύ άλλων στα πλαίσια του UA9 Project, το οποίο είναι μια διακρατική σύμπραξη που σκοπό έχει την βελτίωση του συστήματος collimation του LHC (Large Hadron Collider – Μεγάλος Επιταχυντής Αδρονίων), του μεγαλύτερου και ισχυρότερου επιταχυντή σωματιδίων παγκοσμίως που βρίσκεται στο CERN. Το λογισμικό για την διάταξη αναπτύχθηκε στο περιβάλλον οπτικού προγραμματισμού LabVIEW της National Instruments ενώ τα scripts για την μεταγενέστερη επεξεργασία των δεδομένων που συλλέχθηκαν σε Matlab. Όλες οι σημαντικές πτυχές της σχεδίασης του λογισμικού αναλύονται με λεπτομέρεια, μεταξύ των οποίων η σχεδιαστική αρχιτεκτονική, η διαχείριση, απεικόνιση και μετεπεξεργασία των δεδομένων, ο συγχρονισμός της διαδικασίας λήψης δεδομένων, όλες οι επιλογές εκτέλεσης καθώς και η αυτόματη παραγωγή αναφοράς.The present diploma thesis deals with the development of a test-bench control for piezoelectric actuators characterization. The growing demand for a fast and reliable procedure for piezoelectric actuators’ characterization has subsequently led to the need for development of a test-bench structure that can perform hysteresis and creep measurements among its other functions. The developed test bench will be used to provide results that will be utilized within the UA9 project, a collaborative initiative that has undertaken the task of improving the collimation system, a critical component of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator at CERN. The software part of the project is written in National Instruments’ LabVIEW visual programming development environment and the scripts for the post-processing of the collected data in Matlab. All of the important software design aspects are covered in detail and those include among others the design architecture, the data management, representation and post-processing, the synchronization of the data acquisition, all the execution options and the automatic report generation.Ιωάννης Α. Κουκοβίνης-Πλατιά

Defence spending and economic growth: A causal analysis for Greece and Turkey

There are a number of studies which consider the relation between military spending and economic growth using Granger causality techniques rather than a well-defined economic model. Some have used samples of groups of countries, finding no consistent results. Others have focused on case studies of individual countries, which has the advantage of the researchers bringing to bear much more data than the cross country samples and a greater knowledge of the structure of the economy and the budget. This paper adds to the literature by providing an analysis of two countries, Greece and Turkey, which are particularly interesting case studies given their high military burdens, the poor relations between the two and the resulting arms race in the area. In addition to analysing the data using standard “pre-cointegration” Granger causality techniques, this paper employs modern vector autoregressive (VAR) methodology that utilises cointegration via Granger's representation theorem. The standard Granger causality tests suggest a positive effect of changing military burden on growth for Greece, but this is not sustained when the cointegration between output and military burden is taken into account. The only evidence of significant Granger causality is a negative impact of military burden on growth in Turkey.Military spending, Economic growth, Granger causality, Greece, Turkey,

Military expenditure and economic growth: A demand and supply model for Greece, 1960-96

This paper contributes to the continuing debate on the economic effects of military expenditure by undertaking a case study of Greece. Within Europe Greece provides a particularly interesting object of study. It has the highest military burden in Europe and NATO, is the only European Union country situated in the unstable environment of the Balkans, faces a military threat from Turkey, and has a very weak economy. After some background analysis of the economy and military expenditure, the paper investigates the determinants of Greek military expenditure as well as whether the high military burden has played an important role in Greece's poor economic performance over the period 1960-1996. It estimates a Keynesian simultaneous equation model with a supply side, which allows the indirect effects of military expenditure to be captured explicitly. It concludes that the major determinants of Greek defence spending are not economic but strategic (the threat of war) and that the direct effect of defence spending on economic growth as well as the indirect effects through savings and trade balance are all significantly negative. On the basis of such strong results, the paper concludes that defence spending is harmful for the Greek economy.Greece, Military expenditure, Economic effects,

Transforming Conflicts on EU Borders: the Case of Greek-Turkish Relations

Drawing on the trajectory of Greek-Turkish conflicts, this article demonstrates how the EU's bordering practices affect the conflict resolution capacity of the EU on its external borders. Close institutional relations and positive identification with outsider states diffuse the logic of the security community. On the other hand, hard EU borders incapacitate the EU from having a positive influence. Copyright (c) 2007 The Author(s); Journal compilation (c) 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.