ABSTRACT
Similarly, the democratic peace thesis holds for this realm of security politics. A special edition of the Cambridge Review of International Affairs in 2000 dedicated to ‘disaster diplomacy’ demonstrated how security communities can emerge between neighbouring states facing a common threat, in which information is shared to minimize a common risk. The warming of relations between Greece and Turkey after earthquakes ravaged both countries in 1999 is a classic case of two governments and societies overcoming cultural and political differences when faced with a common threat. At the one level this was a case of basic human empathy at the societal level triumphing over realpolitik and then being reciprocated but Ker-Lindsay demonstrates that it is more revealing than that. The level of cooperation between the two governments, which surprised the rest of the world, was a result of an agreement reached at a meeting of foreign ministers a few months before the earthquake (KerLindsay 2000). Turkish Foreign Minister Cem and his Greek counterpart Papandreou had met principally to discuss the regional military security implications of the crisis going on at that time in Kosovo. Sharing a common concern about the possible spread of conflict to other parts of the Balkans and the flow of refugees from Yugoslavia which was already happening, the two traditional foes engaged in uncharacteristically
cordial dialogue. One dimension of this, barely noticed at the time, was to offer reciprocal help in the instance of a deadly earthquake striking either country. Relations between the two governments remain somewhat frosty on certain issues but have certainly continued to be better than for many years prior to 1999, and societal contact has increased since the disasters. This represents a clear case of spillover, with sectoral cooperation promoting wider cooperation between governments and bringing people closer together through realizing their common interests.
