The national economy is the foundation of state power and the material basis on which national defense rests. Greece and Turkey are doomed by geography to be competitive forces with conflicting national interests. Geography is, on the one hand, immutable, and on the other hand, relentless and unavoidable regarding Greek-Turkish relations.

Despite the fluctuations and changes recorded in their turbulent relations, the two states are, and will remain, strategic competitors. Turkish revisionism is a structural constant of the security environment and constitutes a strategic threat to Hellenism.

The balancing of the revisionist Turkey is supported by the projection of credible and sufficient military power. The production of military power requires economic robustness and a thriving national economy from which the financial resources invested in national defense are drawn: "spending on arms is beneficial."

Military expenditures are the annual premium that Greece pays to counter the threat of the Turkish revisionist strategy. The funding of the public good of national defense is based on Greece's economic capabilities, which systematically lag behind the performance of the Turkish economy.

The unequal economic growth recorded over decades has created and largely entrenched a significant gap between the Greek and Turkish economies. Over time, the maintenance of the current dynamics will turn the gap into a chasm.

The economic capability to finance national defense does not only pertain to the balance of power at present but also determines future military balances. In the long term, the deteriorating economic balance will critically affect the balances of military power and necessitates significant changes and profound reforms in Greek defense policy so that, gradually but timely, it adapts to the economic realities of the coming decades.

The historically underperforming Greek economy has the potential to become a national Achilles' heel with burdensome consequences for Greek national interests and sovereign rights.