EDITORIAL

Dr. Shaul Shay
(Senior research fellow at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at the Interdisciplinary Centre Herzliya and former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council)

Amb Jacob Rosen-Koenigsbuch
(Former ambassador of Israel in Jordan)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 8 November 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies

On October 23, 2026, an unprecedented sectarian terrorist shooting targeted a Christian funeral procession at the Greek Orthodox St. George's Church in Hamoud, near Karak, Jordan. The assault resulted in 9 deaths and left 40 wounded. This is the deadliest attack on Jordan's Christian minority in modern history. Jordan’s Public Security Directorate (PSD) arrested three Jordanian relatives early on October 26, 2026, after a three-hour standoff.... Read more

Nickolaos Mavromates
(RIEAS Research Associate, Historian based in USA)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 2 November 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies

The Eastern Mediterranean is witnessing a high-stakes geopolitical drama where strategic cooperation and deep-seated rivalries tightly coexist. As Turkish naval units prepare to dock in Alexandria for the Sea of Friendship 2026 joint naval exercises, scheduled from November 4 to 9, 2026, the spectacle underscores a profound paradox...... Read more

Demetrios Tsailas (ret Admiral)
(He has taught for many years, operational planning, strategy, and security, to senior offic-ers at the Supreme Joint War College. He is a member and researcher of the Institute for National and International Security)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 2 November 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies

Abstract

The war in Ukraine has accelerated a transformation in maritime warfare, demonstrating that unmanned systems, precision strike capabilities and attacks against critical infrastructure can challenge conventional naval superiority. The Black Sea has emerged as an operational environment in which technological innovation, geographic constraints and geopolitical competition interact to reshape established assumptions about sea control and deterrence. For Greece, these developments carry direct implications for national defence, the security of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, NATO's southern flank and the protection of European maritime infrastructure.... Read more

By Angelos T. Kolokouris

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 28 October 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies

PREAMBLE

In early October 2026, DISINFO 2026, the annual conference convened in Vilnius by the Brussels-based EU DisinfoLab, became an unexpected flashpoint. A plenary session framing the United States itself as a source of foreign information manipulation and interference, prompted Washington, according to Reuters, to lobby allied governments to distance themselves. ... Read more

By Dr Georgios Niveroglou
(Dr Georgios Niveroglou is a retired Major General of the Hellenic Army and a former Director of the Military Office of the Minister of National Defence. He holds a doctorate from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, where he is now a postdoctoral researcher, and a master’s degree in Applied Strategy and International Security from the University of Plymouth. His work focuses on the geopolitics of water, the security of critical infrastructure, and strategic communication. This essay draws on his forthcoming book, Water Wars: The Global Struggle for the Blue Gold.)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 25 October 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies

When analysts speak of water and war, they reach instinctively for the dramatic image: a great dam closing upstream, a river switched off at a border, a pumping station struck from the air. These are real and growing dangers. They are also the exception. The more consequential relationship between water and conflict is quieter, slower and far harder to photograph.... Read more

Allied Burden-Sharing, Escalation in the Middle East, and the Limits of Naval Power in an Era of Concurrent Crises

Demetrios Tsailas (ret Admiral)
(He has taught for many years, operational planning, strategy, and security, to senior officers at the Supreme Joint War College. He is a member and researcher of the Institute for National and International Security)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 18 October 2026

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies

Abstract

The growing number of simultaneous security challenges has exposed a fundamental weakness in Western strategic planning. Military commitments are expanding faster than the resources available to sustain them. Tensions involving Iran, threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, renewed Houthi pressure on Saudi Arabia, and Russia’s continuing war against Ukraine have brought this problem into sharper focus. The central question is not whether Western powers possess sufficient military strength, but whether they can employ it selectively without weakening their position elsewhere.... Read more