Dimitar Bechev

Dimitar Bechev is the director of the Dahrendorf Programme at St. Antony’s College’s European Studies Centre. He is the author of Rival Power: Russia in Southeast Europe and Turkey Under Erdogan.

Articles by Dimitar Bechev

A member of the Peoples Armed Police stands guard in front of the European Delegation in Beijing on April 6, 2023.

Europe and China’s Tepid Anniversary

Analysis

July 22, 2025, 10:49 AM

Putin and Khamenei sit beside each other in upholstered armchairs, a coffee table between them. Putin gestures with both hands as he speaks, while Khamenei smiles slightly at him.

Why Russia Is Sitting Out This Round of the Israel-Iran Conflict

Analysis

June 25, 2025, 4:26 PM

Turks wave national and EU flags as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul on Dec. 18, 2004.

Turkey Wants to Be a European Power Now

Analysis

March 19, 2025, 3:05 PM

A view shows a private beach as a cargo and a container ship sail across the horizon at Venice Lido, Italy, on Sept. 7, 2020.

Italy’s Mediterranean Belt and Road

Argument

Michaël Tanchum, Dimitar Bechev

January 21, 2021, 1:15 PM

The Pioneering Spirit vessel, which will carry out construction of the offshore section of the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline, passes the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge on the Bosporus in Istanbul on May 31, 2017.

Turkey’s Plans to Become a Regional Energy Giant Just Got a Boost

Argument

August 28, 2020, 1:21 PM

Zoran Zaev, leader of the ruling Social Democratic Union party, celebrates victory in the general elections in Skopje, North Macedonia, on July 16.

North Macedonia’s Success Story May be About to End

Argument

July 24, 2020, 12:49 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attend a news conference in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 14.

Putin Is Trolling the United States in the Persian Gulf

Argument

September 19, 2019, 12:15 PM

Kyriakos Mitsotakis addresses a preelection rally in Athens on July 4.

Greece Is Getting Good at Geopolitics

Argument

July 25, 2019, 7:42 PM

A construction worker works on the TurkStream pipeline in the Black Sea on June 23, 2017. (TurkStream Project/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Russia’s Pipe Dreams Are Europe’s Nightmare

Argument

March 12, 2019, 2:36 PM

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Fight Club: Erdogan and Putin Square Off

Argument

November 25, 2015, 4:16 PM

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The Geopolitics of a Grexit Are Actually Pretty Boring

Argument

July 8, 2015, 11:18 AM

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Playing the Putin Card

Argument

April 8, 2015, 8:13 PM

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