Defence diplomacy is an emerging field within international relations that has gained prominence only over the past decade. Scholarly attention to this concept has risen, reflecting the broader militarisation of international affairs and the growing emphasis on security cooperation across regions. In the Eastern Mediterranean, defence diplomacy arrangements have become significant due to the region’s geopolitical volatility, energy competition, and strategic rivalries. Even small states, such as Cyprus, are navigating increasingly complex security challenges that require innovative diplomatic approaches to manage threats, build partnerships, and maintain stability.

This book offers a comprehensive examination of small states’ defence diplomacy in the context of protracted conflicts, using the Republic of Cyprus as a detailed case study. It analyzez how existential threats, prolonged insecurity, and regional instability shape the objectives, activities, and approaches of defence diplomacy. Drawing on original empirical research, including elite interviews, access to non-classified Ministry of Defence archives, and field observation, it provides insight into a state and region where security cooperation is both a necessity and a strategic tool of foreign policy. Covering the period of 2004–2024, the book explores Cyprus’ bilateral and multilateral defence engagements, its evolving security partnerships with regional and global actors, and the domestic and external constraints on its policy. It also develops a theoretical framework applicable to other small states facing similar geopolitical pressures. This work will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in international relations, security studies, diplomacy, as well as policy-makers concerned with small states, defence policy, and conflict management.  

Marinos Papaioakeim is a political scientist and researcher specializing in defence and military diplomacy, small states, and international relations. His research interests include small states, public diplomacy, soft power, international relations theory, the history of diplomacy, and hybrid threats. He is currently a Tutor in the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cyprus, teaching International Relations.