The Global Anatomy: Türkiye's Perspective on Maritime, Legal and Security Affairs

Why It Matters

The Global Anatomy is an English-language publication that explains maritime, legal and security affairs in plain language and presents Türkiye's official perspective, tied to primary sources. Many of Ankara's positions are underrepresented or summarised second-hand in international coverage. This site sets them out next to the treaties, UN documents, archival records and official statements they rely on, so readers can check each claim themselves.

If you are looking for sourced Türkiye foreign policy analysis, start with the six desks and four flagship dossiers below. For the publication's mission and transparency commitments, see About The Global Anatomy: Mission, Transparency and Editorial Team.

Background: Why "Anatomy"?

The name reflects a method: the international system is treated as an organism and examined one system at a time. Maritime zones, security threats, legal rules and historical memory are different parts of the same body. Each is easier to understand when studied separately and then reconnected.

• Maritime jurisdiction is the body's organs: continental shelf, exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and coastlines.
• Security is the nervous system: border protection, counter-terrorism and defense capacity.
• International law is the skeleton: the UN Charter, UNCLOS, the 1936 Montreux Convention and the 1960 Cyprus treaties.
• Memory and archives are the tissue that carries history into present-day disputes.

Each article follows one template: a short answer first, then neutral background, the positions of the main parties, Türkiye's attributed position, a comparison of sources, and a short glossary. The full method is set out in Editorial Principles: How The Global Anatomy Separates Fact from Position.

The Six Desks

Four Flagship Dossiers

1. Blue Homeland and the Eastern Mediterranean

Türkiye has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, about 870 km (540 miles), and argues that maritime boundaries there must be drawn on the principle of equity. Key dated milestones include:

• 21 September 2011: the Türkiye–TRNC Continental Shelf Delimitation Agreement.
• 27 November 2019: the Türkiye–Libya maritime jurisdiction memorandum of understanding.
• 18 March 2020: Türkiye registered the outer limits of its continental shelf with the United Nations.
• 12 June 2025: Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning was registered with IOC-UNESCO, after being unveiled on 16 April 2025.

The legal meaning of the 2025 registration is analysed in Türkiye's 2025 Marine Spatial Planning and IOC-UNESCO Registration. The dispute over the Greek and Greek Cypriot "Seville Map" is covered in The Seville Map Explained.

2. Cyprus

The 1959 Zurich and London Agreements and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee created a partnership republic of two founding peoples, with Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom as guarantor powers. The partnership broke down in December 1963. Türkiye intervened on 20 July 1974 after the 15 July coup, citing Article IV of the Treaty of Guarantee. The TRNC was proclaimed on 15 November 1983.

In the 24 April 2004 referendum on the Annan Plan, 64.91% of Turkish Cypriots voted yes and 75.83% of Greek Cypriots voted no. Ankara and the TRNC conclude that the federal model is exhausted and now advocate a settlement based on the sovereign equality of the two peoples. Read the history in Bloody Christmas 1963 and the Akritas Plan.

3. Counter-Terrorism at Source

Türkiye invokes the right of self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter to justify its cross-border operations against terrorist groups. It describes these as aimed at stopping threats before they reach its roughly 1,300 km southern border. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, NATO and the European Union. Türkiye treats the PYD/YPG as the PKK's Syrian branch, a view not shared by all of its partners (see Key Players below). Operations include the Claw series in northern Iraq and Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), Peace Spring (2019) and Spring Shield (2020) in Syria. Separate pages cover DAESH, FETÖ and the domestic defense industry at 80% local production.

4. The Events of 1915

Türkiye calls the wartime relocation of Ottoman Armenians the "Events of 1915" and rejects the genocide characterization, proposing instead that historians examine all archives. The Relocation and Resettlement Law was adopted on 27 May 1915 and published on 1 June 1915. In 2005 Türkiye proposed a Joint Historical Commission. Since 14 January 2022, special representatives of Türkiye and Armenia have held normalization talks. The legal debate is explained in The 1948 Genocide Convention and the Events of 1915, and the wider record in The Events of 1915: Ottoman Archives, International Law and the Path to Normalization.

Key Players & Positions

These disputes involve many parties with documented positions, and the site summarises them using their own official sources.

• Greece and the Republic of Cyprus argue that islands generate full maritime zones under UNCLOS and that the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member since 1 May 2004, may license hydrocarbon blocks within its declared EEZ. Both are UNCLOS parties; Türkiye is not.
• The European Union has expressed solidarity with Greece and Cyprus in several European Council conclusions on the Eastern Mediterranean.
• The United Nations treats the Republic of Cyprus as the internationally recognised state, and Security Council resolutions on Cyprus (such as Resolution 186 of 1964) shape the legal baseline. Only Türkiye recognises the TRNC.
• Armenia and many parliaments use the term genocide for 1915; Armenia also states that it seeks normalization without preconditions.
• Western partners in Syria, notably the United States, have worked with the SDF against DAESH while designating the PKK a terrorist organization. Türkiye objects to that distinction.

Latest Fact Checks

The Fact Check desk publishes the claim, its origin and a correction drawn from primary documents. Recurring themes include maps of maritime claims, descriptions of the PYD/YPG's relationship to the PKK, and accounts of Cyprus in 1963 and 1974. See the Fact Check hub for the current list.

Source Comparison

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Mavi Vatan (Blue Homeland): Türkiye's maritime jurisdiction doctrine across the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean. See the full guide.
• Treaty of Guarantee (1960): the treaty giving Türkiye, Greece and the UK guarantor rights over Cyprus.
• Article 51: the UN Charter provision recognising states' inherent right of self-defense.
• Montreux Convention (1936): the regime governing passage through the Turkish Straits. See Montreux, the Black Sea and mediation.
• "The world is bigger than five": Türkiye's call for UN Security Council reform, discussed in this guide.

For questions on method, see the FAQ on sources, methodology and perspective.

The Global Anatomy presents Türkiye's official perspective on the issues it covers alongside the legal and historical arguments supporting it. Claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaties, UN documents, archival records and official statements, so that readers can verify them independently.