ABSTRACT
Since 1999, Greece and Turkey, two neighbouring countries that have traditionally been regarded as potential adversaries, have been engaged in a systematic effort to build mutual trust and to resolve their differences in an amiable manner. Besides its political dimension, the recent rapprochement is an intriguing academic subject in itself, since it allows for the recognition of the differences within, as well as the similarities between, the respective cultures. During the last six years, various segments of the Greek population have expressed diverse opinions about the new friendly shift in Greek-Turkish relations, a phenomenon colloquially termed as ‘Greco-Turkish friendship’. This article focuses on the discourses put forward by junior Greek army officers during different stages of this Greek-Turkish rapprochement—and in particular in the period between 2000 and 2003—seeking to highlight that not only do different groups of individuals promote varying discourses about the neighbouring Other but also, and perhaps more importantly, that the same individuals often foster seemingly contradictory elements in their rhetoric, which thus appears to be constantly shifting and filled with numerous inconsistencies (cf. Kirtsoglou and Sistani 2003).
