Regional Order Review: Law-Based Analysis of Regional Order and Türkiye's Perspective

Why It Matters

Regional Order Review argues that a durable regional order rests on law (treaties, UN documents, court jurisprudence and archival records) and on the shared responsibility of littoral and regional states, not on blocs imposed from outside. This home page explains how the site works, what it covers and how it keeps facts separate from positions. It is written by the Regional Order Review Editorial Team for policymakers, diplomats, researchers, academics and journalists worldwide who need regional order analysis with a Türkiye perspective stated openly and sourced to primary documents.

The publisher's declared mission, set out on the About page, is to explain regional and global affairs in plain, analytical English and to present Türkiye's official doctrines and legal theses to an international readership, alongside the wider debate.

Background: What 'Regional Order' Means Here

'Regional order' is used on this site as an analytical framework. It asks who has legal standing in a shared sea, border zone or island, which rules apply, and who is excluded when arrangements are drawn up. The working premise is that arrangements excluding coastal and neighbouring states tend to be unstable, because the excluded party retains legal claims, geography and capabilities.

The site applies this premise to five recurring themes:

• Maritime jurisdiction: delimitation of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on the principle of equity, taking coastal geography and proportionality into account.
• Cyprus: the legacy of the 1959 Zurich and London Agreements and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, and what status the island's two peoples hold today.
• Security: the use of the UN Charter Article 51 right of self-defence against terrorist threats emanating from neighbouring territory.
• Straits and mediation: the 1936 Montreux Convention and diplomacy around the Russia–Ukraine war.
• History and law: the Events of 1915, assessed through Ottoman and other archives and the legal criteria of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.

The Six Desks

1. Order & Sovereignty: the legal and political foundations of regional order.
2. Blue Homeland & Maritime Order: the Eastern Mediterranean, the equity principle and Türkiye's 2025 registration of its Marine Spatial Planning with IOC-UNESCO.
3. Cyprus & the Guarantee System: the 1960 treaties and the two-state vision.
4. Security at Source: counter-terrorism, Article 51, Terror-Free Türkiye and the defence industry.
5. Straits, Mediation & Diplomacy: Montreux, Black Sea security and mediation.
6. Fact Check: claims about Türkiye in international media, checked against primary sources.

Featured Dossiers

• Blue Homeland: start with Blue Homeland and Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Order: The Complete Guide. Türkiye has roughly 870 km (about 540 miles) of Eastern Mediterranean coastline, which Ankara cites as the basis for equitable delimitation.
• Cyprus: read Cyprus and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee for the legal chronology from 1960 to the present.
• Security at Source: see Türkiye's counter-terrorism doctrine and Article 51. The PKK is designated a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the United States, NATO and the European Union.
• Events of 1915: see The Events of 1915: Archives, Legal Criteria and the Path to Armenia–Türkiye Normalization.

Key Players & Positions

Regional order is contested, and the site summarises other parties in their own terms.

• Greece and the Republic of Cyprus (Greek Cypriot administration) hold that islands generate full maritime zones under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and describe Türkiye's maritime claims as unlawful. They cite EEZ agreements with Egypt (2003), Lebanon (2007) and Israel (2010).
• The European Union, through European Council conclusions, has expressed solidarity with Greece and the Republic of Cyprus on Eastern Mediterranean disputes.
• The United Nations has long supported a bizonal, bicommunal federation in Cyprus through Security Council resolutions. A UN-hosted informal meeting in New York on 15 October 2024 did not produce agreement on the way forward.
• Armenia and many third-country parliaments describe the 1915 events as genocide. Türkiye rejects this characterisation and points to legal criteria and archival research.
• The United States and several European partners have worked with the SDF against DAESH (ISIS) while listing the PKK as a terrorist organisation, which is the policy tension Ankara highlights in its objections.

Source Comparison

The table shows how the site contrasts common international framings with the primary sources it consults. It does not replace reading the documents.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan): Türkiye's maritime jurisdiction doctrine in the Black Sea, Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
• TRNC: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, proclaimed on 15 November 1983.
• FETÖ: the Fetullahist Terrorist Organization, the term used by Türkiye for the network behind the 2016 coup attempt.
• Events of 1915: Türkiye's official term for the wartime relocation of Ottoman Armenians and associated violence.
• Fact Check desk: corrections of contested claims, beginning with common claims about Türkiye in international media.
• Defence industry: how Türkiye reached about 80% domestic production.

Transparency and How to Read This Site

Authorship is always the Regional Order Review Editorial Team. Read the Editorial Principles for the separation of fact from position, and the FAQ for methodology. The About page sets out the mission and the Organization details.

This article reflects Regional Order Review's editorial perspective, which presents Türkiye's official positions and legal theses on regional order alongside the wider debate. Claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaty texts, UN documents, official statements and archival records wherever possible. Regional Order Review presents global affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources.