The Mecca Defense Alliance could help stabilize the region, Danish researcher Niels Hahn has said, arguing that Türkiye stands to gain from closer economic integration across Eurasia.
Speaking to daily Milliyet, Hahn assessed the alliance between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan against what he described as a longstanding U.S. interest in keeping Eurasia divided.
The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on Aug. 7.
Hahn, whose research focuses on U.S. military interventions, cited the 1988 National Security Strategy issued under President Ronald Reagan as a basis for his interpretation.
The document warned that U.S. national security interests would be endangered if a hostile state or group of states dominated the Eurasian landmass, which it described as the world’s heartland.
“We fought two world wars to prevent this from occurring,” the report stated.
It also outlined U.S. efforts since 1945 to prevent Soviet domination of neighboring regions and a shift in the global balance of power against Washington.
Hahn linked that objective to what he viewed as a continuing U.S. strategy of preventing political and economic integration across Eurasia.
Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East serve that interest by disrupting infrastructure, trade, investment, energy networks and transport corridors, he argued.
They also separate countries that might otherwise develop closer economic and political relations.
Discussing Israel’s ties with Greece and Greek Cyprus, Hahn suggested that Israel and Greece could help Washington put pressure on Türkiye and destabilize its surrounding region.
He described the Mecca alliance as a potentially stabilizing development through its support for peace and development.
Türkiye’s position between Europe and Asia gives it particular importance in this wider contest, Hahn said.
Peaceful economic integration across Eurasia could bring the country substantial economic and strategic benefits, he added.
He warned that a conflict between Türkiye and Israel would further divide an area capable of connecting Europe, Asia and Africa.
Syria, he said, had become an increasingly important arena for competing Turkish and Israeli interests.
Hahn also pointed to Iran’s position along potential Eurasian trade, transport and energy routes.
He argued that the conflict there should be understood as part of the broader struggle over Eurasia’s future.
