Defense diplomacy is characterized by the use of the military resources of a state, as another tool of its wider diplomatic effort. In this case Marinos Papaioakim, our Institute's Research Associate analyzes the Defense diplomacy of small states with his main focus, the case of the Republic of Cyprus. Initially citing a more general framework of defense diplomacy, this paper examines practices and actions followed by small states, but also the challenges they may face when practicing this policy. The main means of drawing examples is the case study of the Republic of Cyprus, which after and since its accession to the EU significantly strengthened and continues to strengthen its defense diplomacy. Marinos Papaioakim notes that while defense diplomacy is an important tool for small states, it does not free them completely from the security challenges they face, highlighting the example of Cyprus.
