THE NORTHEASTERN MEDITERRANEAN AS AN OBJECT OF BRITISH GEOPOLITICS IN 1914–1918: A PROPOSAL FOR THE DISTINGUISH OF THE REGION

Ivan Borovets,

Ph.D. (History), Associate Professor,

Kamianets–Podilskyi National Ivan Ohiienko University, Kamianets–Podilskyi, Ukraine

 

Artem Hrachov,

Ph.D. student,

Kamianets–Podilskyi National Ivan Ohiienko University, Kamianets–Podilskyi, Ukraine

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/2524-048X.2026.35.1

 

Abstract.

The purpose of the article is to substantiate the suggestion to use a distinct term – «Northeastern Mediterranean» – to designate the region of special geopolitical interests of Great Britain during the Great War. The methodological basis of the study was the principle of historicism. Comparative–historical, historical–systemic and historical–typological methods were used. The scientific novelty this research lies in its attempt to find the optimal term for the general name of the region (which included Greece, Bulgaria, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits, the western coast of Asia Minor as part of the Ottoman Empire, as well as Serbia), which played a significant role in British foreign policy at that time. Conclusions. British geopolitics at the turn of the Modern and Recent Ages had a clearly expressed naval character. The Aegean Sea basin and the Straits provided communication with the Russian Empire and were a key factor in guaranteeing security for waterways in the Suez Canal zone. In 1914–1918, London aimed to withdraw the Ottoman Empire from the war and attract the Balkan countries (at that time still belonged to the East, not Europe) to the side of the Entente. In this regard, as evidenced by the materials of the National Archives of Great Britain, British foreign and military departments paid primary attention to Greece, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. The zone of their activity also included Serbia which claimed the Adriatic coast. These countries constituted a single node of British geopolitical interests. In the processed British archival sources of that time, the general name «Eastern Mediterranean» was used in this context. However, from a geographical point of view, it is inaccurate, since the content of the documents did not mention Cyrenaica, Egypt, Palestine, Syria or the southern coast of Asia Minor. Therefore, it seems possible to propose a more appropriate and specific term – «Northeastern Mediterranean».

Keywords: Northeastern Mediterranean, Great Britain, World War I, foreign policy, archival sources, East, Balkans.

 

Submitted 04.01.2026

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