The Issues on the “Trans-European” Development: Politico-military Concerns in Turkey

If the balanced and sustainable urban development is the overall objective of the European Union in spacial planning, each member of the Union as well as those who are willing to join the Union must commit and conduct spacial strategies accordingly. However, such economic and probably social rationales are often ignored in the mist of politics and military. From geopolitics to national strategy, whatever the label of alternative rationales would be, military expedition does not seem to enhance the balanced and sustainable development. Rather, military deployment in boarder areas prevents further trans-regional development beyond national boundary; Xenophobia in regional security cannot be cured by military expedition. On the contrary, continuous existence of military personals and micromonitoring of every aspects of trans-regional activities would accelerate disintegration of such problematic areas from the central spacial planning. This essay, therefore, calls attentions of spacial planners on the impact of regional conflicts. This essay encourages positive trans-regional, or more precisely, “trans-European” spacial planning and “syn-local” approaches to minimize the regional conflicts within the broader Europe. Analyzing the levels of military expenditure as well as the stocks of military equipments, Kollias and Makrydakis conclude that Greece and Turkey have been engaging in an arms race, in which the Cyprus question holds the key driving factor (1997). In fact, Greece increased the number of armored combat vehicles (ACVs), combat helicopters, and combat aircraft, while Turkey increased the number of ACVs and combat helicopters between 1990 and 2000. Considering the fact that both country has modernized all ground, aerial and naval equipments, the number of arm equipments purchased by both country is more than that of any NATO nations. Furthermore, naval and aerial