Greek-Turkish Relations Since 1955
... Similarly, Venizelos wanted Greeks to remain in "Constantinople" as a reminder of the Megali Idea and to prevent the need for the Rum Patriarchate to be relocated from Istanbul to Greece (Oran 2003, 99). As a compromise between Inönü's and Venizelos' aims, the Rums of Bozcaada, Gökçeada and Istanbul (whose total number exceeded 100,000) and the Muslims of Western Thrace (numbered about 124,000) in Greece were excluded from the compulsory exchange of populations (Akgönül 2004;Bahcheli 1990;Oran 2003;Mazower 2000;Hirschon 2003). The population exchange between Turkey and Greece and the rights of the remaining minorities formed a part of the Treaty of Lausanne. ...
Burgaz provides an excellent empirical case study of post-Ottoman conviviality, because the homogenisation process during the nation-building stage of modern Turkey triggered migrations from the island, especially of non-Muslims, yet the island’s population retains elements of its Byzantine and Ottoman diversity. In order to understand the historical and political context of this diversity, the homogenisation process and how the categorisation of differences were reinscribed during the transition from the Ottoman Empire to modern Turkish Republic, in this chapter, I explain the Ottoman Empire’s millet system and how the demographics of the island has changed following the domestic and foreign policies that have oppressed the non-Muslim minorities and the unrecognised Muslims, such as the Alevis and Kurds, in Turkey and on the island. I document the impact of Turkification policies during the building of Modern Turkey and international conflicts between Greece, Cyprus and Turkey on people’s everyday life. In this chapter, I describe the island life, its inhabitants, its nature, the seasonal population fluctuations and the division of labour on the island to give a sense of the life in Burgaz. Then, I set the historical and political context of diversity on the island and describe my methodology.
... They might be considered to be void, 15 in violation of a jus cogens norm of international law. On the other hand, demilitarized zones remainTozun Bahcheli, "Greek-Turkish Relations Since 1955", 1990, https://www.routledge.com/Greek-Turkish-Relations-Si nce-1955/Bahcheli/p/book/9780367010867. ...
The Aegean sea issue is a long case that first occurred in 1950, the main issue of this case revolves on the geographical condition that has led Turkey and Greece on fighting over supremacy to take control of the Aegean sea area. The issue of both Turkey and Greece has earlier been submitted to the ICJ however, its lack of jurisdiction causes the issue itself to remain unresolved. In 2020 Greece has stated that they are looking forward to extending their territorial waters, the statement itself might become a big issue for Turkey and has further proved the urgency of actual maritime jurisdiction and real resolution towards the Aegean sea issue. The goal of this research is to clarify and find a resolution that can be used under the situation of the Aegean sea issue in both international legal theory and practice. Apart from giving clarification of possible and available Legal instruments and theories, this research will also elaborate even further on why Territorial water extension by Greece would call for an urgency, especially for Turkey. This research revealed that UNCLOS as an International law instrument still have some issues in practice of a unique circumstances issue like the Aegean Sea, and shows that in its practice both Turkey and Greece must have a good will intention to fully resolve the issue of Aegean sea to draw an end line to the long lasting issue of maritime jurisdiction over its territorial sea.
... The first group of scholars strongly argues that Mustafa Kemal had indeed broken Turkey from its past and had established an entirely new political identity for Turkey that was modern, Western, and secular. Jones (1926), Toynbee and Kirkwood (1926), Robinson (1965), Vali (1971), Groom (1986), Kürkçüoglu (1987), Bahcheli (1990), Oran (1990), Başkaya (1991), and Yavuz and Khan (1992) see the real or imagined, but necessary, discontinuity from Turkey's Islamic and Ottoman past and greater Westernisation and modernisation. Calis and Bagci (2003, p. 218), for example, argue that "the Kemalist reformation was, in reality, Turkey's total break with its Islamic, Ottoman and to some extent with its Turkish past on the one hand, and total embrace of Europe through acceptance of its values and institutions." ...
This chapter discusses a troubled yet incomplete intellectual transition of Turkey’s foreign policy from the Empire to the nation-state. The paper discusses three transformative transitions, starting from an Ottomanist foreign policy to Nationalist/Kemalist foreign policy to a Cold and post-Cold-War politics. Since the rise of the Erdogan-led conservative government, new vocabularies such as zero-problem policy, strategic depth, Eurasianism, multi-dimensionalism, diversification, or Asia Anew have been floated to fill the gaps in Turkey–Asia relations. These key words remind the article of the Ottoman-era intellectual Yusuf Akcura “Three Types of Policies (Uç Terz Siyaset),” in which he had explained why the Ottoman Empire should have pursued a policy of Turkish nationalism, instead of Pan-Islamism and Ottomanism.KeywordsOttomanismPan-IslamismPan-AsianismAsia AnewTransition
... Academic literature on Greek-Turkish relations has also followed political vicissitudes. Pre-rapprochment works on the topic included Couloumbis (1983), Bahcheli (1990) and Constas (1991). At the on set of the rapprochement process the relevant literature flourished. ...
This chapter examines the development of Greek-Turkish relations under the influence of the European Union and the limits of the rapprochement between the two countries. The 1999 lifting of the Greek veto on the improvement of EU-Turkey relations triggered an improvement in bilateral relations which has remained unprecedented since the 1950s. Bilateral relations underwent a paradigmatic shift which allowed for zero-sum game-based approaches to be challenged. Economic and civil society ties grew stronger; minor ity problems were mitigated while longstanding bilateral diplomatic disputes remained unresolved and far from international adjudication. Turkey's faltering EU membership ambitions weakened a crucial catalyst of Greek-Turkish rapprochement, yet there was no relapse to the pre-1999 problematic relations. Despite the severe economic and social crises that hit Greece and Turkey in the last decade, Greek-Turkish relations have not fallen victim to rampant populism. In both countries, the bilateral disputes and the Cyprus issue declined in importance compared to other foreign policy issues. This al lowed both sides to focus on urgent questions but removed a strong incentive to take risks for conflict resolution. The costs of avoiding a bitter compromise appear low, and this provides a strong incentive to political leaders to refrain from necessary political risks. This poses substantial risks for the future and prevents the development of even closer economic and social relations.
... However, when in 1960 the Greek Cypriots became involved in enosis policies (i.e. seeking political union with Greece) in violation of the Zurich-London accords, diplomatic relations between the two Cypriot communities' motherlands were also exacerbated (Bahcheli 1990, pp. 51Á94). ...
Within the politics of nationalism and nation-building, the emigration of ethnic and religious minorities, whether voluntary or involuntary, appears to be a commonly occurring practice. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century, modern Turkey still carried the legacy of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious diversity in which its Armenian, Greek and Jewish communities had official minority status based upon the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. However, throughout the twentieth century, Turkey’s non-Muslim minority populations have undergone a mass emigration experience in which thousands of their numbers have migrated to various countries around the globe. While in the 1920s the population of non-Muslims in the country was close to three per cent of the total, today it has dropped to less than two per thousand. This article analyses the emigration of non-Muslim people from Turkey and relates this movement to the wider context of nation-building in the country.
... Most studies on Greek-Turkish relations emphasize bilateral political conflict over the Aegean Sea and the Cyprus issue (Aydin and Ifantis 2004;Bahcheli 1990;Couloumbis and Ifantis 2002;Ifantis 2005). Considering bilateral developments over the last decades, far too little attention has been paid to the potential impact of increasing economic ties between the two countries. ...
To what extent does growing trade lessen the probability of inter-state conflict? This paper addresses this question by using the curiously under-studied dyadic relationship between Greece and Turkey. Measuring trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) volumes as well as tourism flows and by use of elite interviews with key actors from both countries, we find that economic relations have become stronger and more diverse over time, non-state actors now featuring prominently in deepening interaction. Such developments, however, fail to translate into conflict resolution at the political level. To account for these findings, we use a New Liberal approach, arguing that this helps us explain both enhanced plurality in bilateral economic exchange and the incompatibility of the two countries' respective conceptions regarding legitimate national borders.
... In our examination of the subcategory of the 'social status' of the Greek language in Istanbul, a complex picture emerged. Textual analysis revealed that under the Treaty of Lausanne, Greek theoretically enjoys the same rights as Turkish, but reported long-standing tensions between Greece and Turkey has meant that there have been frequent infringements of the Treaty and pressures applied on the community and its status (see Alexandris 1983;Bahcheli 1990). A similar picture is presented in the historical literature of the Turkish-speaking minority in Thrace. ...
The Greek Orthodox community of Istanbul has long existed as a bilingual Greek and Turkish grouping and remains largely unstudied. The sharp decrease in the size of this community to approximately 1000 members raises questions as to the maintenance of Greek in this setting. This study attempts to establish the current status of Greek in the community and explores key sociolinguistic and sociopsychological parameters relevant to its potential survival or loss. In particular, it investigates whether the symbolic status of Greek, its link with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul and the strength of the community's ethnocultural identity are crucial factors that might underpin its survival. Data gathered via a questionnaire (investigating language use, attitudes and the ethnolinguistic status of the community) and interviews revealed that Greek has high symbolic status and plays a key role in defining ethnocultural identity. However Greek competence in the younger generation appears to be significantly declining. Greek is now widely spoken only in the home and at Church; and without significant changes language shift may in practice accelerate, despite a strong desire by the community to preserve their language.
... Descriptive and legal accounts of Greek-Turkish territorial waters dispute are abundant. Ahnish (1993) Bahcheli (1990), Clogg (1983), Constas (1991), Coufoudakis (1985), Couloumbis (1983), Kollias (1996), Larrabee (1992), and Papacosma (1994) constitute few of them. These works do not provide general explanations for recurrent crises between the two countries or predict future conflict paths. ...
Delimitation of the territorial waters and continental shelf in the Aegean Sea constitutes a constant source of conflict and produces recurrent crises between Greece and Turkey. This article explores directions that the Greek-Turkish dispute over the delimitation of territorial waters can take through an evolutionary game framework. Crises are found to follow routines and practices involving challenges to the status quo and reactions preceding mutual retreat. Hence, the status quo in the Aegean Sea can persist even in the form of aggressive behavior. It is also possible that the dispute will evolve into a stable state of conflict where no cooperative foreign policy can survive.
... In particular, this problem is concerned with the delimitation of the continental shelf and/or the exclusive economic zone, the width of the territorial waters, the extend of the Greek air space and the flight information area over the Aegean, the demilitarization of the East Aegean islands by the Greek Army, and the NATO operational control in the Aegean Sea. Finally, the treatment and rights of the minorities have been a cause of friction between Turkey and Greece since the signing of the Lausanne Treaty between the two parties in 1923 (for a more detailed historical background on these issues, see Coufoudakis 1985 Coufoudakis , 1991 Bahcheli 1990; Clogg 1991; for a presentation of the legal arguments, see Syrigos 1998; Bolukbasi 2004; Heraclides 2010). The most recent rapprochement started between Greece and Turkey in 1999 and led to significant improvement in relations (Ker-Lindsay 2000; Heraclides 2002; Evin 2004; Öniş and Yilmaz 2008; Tsarouhas 2009). ...
This paper evaluates a Greek-Turkish peace project, which was composed of three interactive workshops and was held with university students from Greece and Turkey. We evaluate the project by combining a two-way evaluation methodology. The first is a process evaluation where we examine the project’s ‘theory of change’ through interviews with the organizers and participant observation. A theory of change map has been created as a result depicting the beliefs of the organizers about the conflict, the conditions they see as necessary to transform the conflict, the programmatic activities and macro-level goals. In the second part, we conduct an outcome evaluation measuring empathy and trust towards the members of the other ethnic group. We employ a two-group, post-test experimental design. The findings of this phase suggest that the participant group has significantly higher level of empathy and trust towards the other group than the non-participants. Finally, we compare the results from the two phases of evaluation and draw both practical lessons for peace practitioners and theoretical implications to guide future research.
... Lesser known disputes include the minority rights of Muslim ethnic Turks in Greece's Thrace region, and legal recognition of the Eastern Orthodox Church's Ecumenical Patriarchate in İstanbul by Turkey. For a discussion on Greek-Turkish disputes in general, see Bahcheli (1990Bahcheli ( , 2003, Bölükbaşı (1992), Ker-Lindsay (2000, Kollias and Günlük-Şenesen (2003), Larrabee and Lesser (2002), Tsakonas and Dokos (2004) and Veremis (2003). For Aegean disputes specifically, see Acer (2003), Axt (2006), Aydın (1997), Aydın and Ifantis (2004), Bölükbaşi (2004), Gürel (1993), Athanasopulos (2001), Syrigos (1998) and Wilson (1979). ...
This article contributes to the disaster diplomacy literature in examining the conditions under which disasters can lead to long-term disaster-related collaboration (e.g. in disaster response, recovery or risk reduction) at both governmental and non-governmental level among states in conflict. In particular, the article focuses on the role of the 1999 earthquakes in enhancing such collaboration between Greece and Turkey over the past decade. While acknowledging the diversity and complexity of disaster diplomacy situations, the article suggests that disasters can lead to long-term disaster-related cooperation among states in conflict when: (1) one party providing disaster relief to another party is followed by a similar reciprocal gesture (i.e. tit-for-tat diplomacy); (2) there is a realization and acceptance that neighbours should come to each other’s assistance in times of disaster; and (3) there is an enabling broader context (e.g. a rapprochement process) conducive to sustaining the long-term cooperation.
... The idioms of "performance" and "play" in its theatrical sense are indeed the chief metaphor used in Greek to talk about such political "games" (to use the English idiom) (e.g., Sutton, 2003: 196, 204). Following this agreement, the early 1960s became a period of normalization in Greco-Turkish relations, following the crises of the 1950s, when the anti-colonial nationalist EOKA struggle was launched in Cyprus and repercussions against the Greek minority of Istanbul followed (Kitsikis, 1978;Alexandris, 1983;Bahcheli, 1990). ...
This article analyzes a particular type of radical political discourse in Greece--namely the articulation of stereotypes of Greek-ness and Turkish-ness in the work of Mendis Bostantzoglu, a Greek satirist and cartoonist. The author examines a poem and a sketch published in the 1960s, in which stereotypes of Greek-ness and Turkish-ness are presented and mocked. Relating their production to their specific historical context and current academic discussions in Greece on nationalism and Otherness, the author argues that the ways in which ethnic stereotypes of "self" and "other" are used to discuss political issues have more to tell about internal Greek issues (such as a critique of the government and its policies) than about Greece's foreign affairs. Such analyses, it is further argued, also lead to a greater appreciation of the complex and implicit sets of meanings negotiated by the stereotypes themselves.
... However, when in 1960 the Greek Cypriots became involved in enosis policies (i.e. seeking political union with Greece) in violation of the Zurich-London accords, diplomatic relations between the two Cypriot communities' motherlands were also exacerbated (Bahcheli 1990, pp. 51Á94). ...
Within the politics of nationalism and nation-building, the emigration of ethnic and religious minorities, whether voluntary or involuntary, appears to be a commonly occurring practice. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century, modern Turkey still carried the legacy of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious diversity in which its Armenian, Greek and Jewish communities had official minority status based upon the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. However, throughout the twentieth century, Turkey’s non-Muslim minority populations have undergone a mass emigration experience in which thousands of their numbers have migrated to various countries around the globe. While in the 1920s the population of non-Muslims in the country was close to three per cent of the total, today it has dropped to less than two per thousand. This article analyses the emigration of non-Muslim people from Turkey and relates this movement to the wider context of nation-building in the country.
... Strategic calculations made by the British before the Suez crisis assigned an unacceptable cost to the loss of Cyprus, with important implications on their position in the Middle East. The Turkish side felt that the prospect of a Greek "annexation" of Cyprus would be against long-term Turkish security interests in the area (Bahcheli, 1990, Michalopoulos, 1989, p.71, andTheodoropoulos, 1988. Loss of Crete at the turn of the century to Greece has always been resented by Turkey 23 1955 (Michalopoulos, 1989). ...
Past attempts to explain Greek-Turkish conflict have been built on two underlying themes. One theme focuses on incompatible Greek and Turkish interests while the other identifies cultural and social differences between the two countries as the primary causes for competition. Immediate causes for the conflict include issues ranging from domestic political considerations to the international setting. This thesis examines the 1955, 1963, 1967, 1974, 1976 and 1987 Greek-Turkish crises as it questions the primacy of underlying or immediate causes in Greek-Turkish conflict. After examining possible reasons for the failure of past mediations in resolving the underlying causes of the conflict, this thesis suggests that national interests as well as cultural realities from both sides of the Aegean have to be considered in any mediation attempt. Immediate causes do not seem critical for the evolution of the conflict even though they determine the development and outcome of particular crises. This thesis also recognizes, that successful resolution of Greek-Turkish differences will be of benefit not only to the two countries but to regional stability as well (Cyprus, Balkans, Southeastern Mediterranean). Organizations with which the two countries are associated, (NATO, EU, WEU) have only to gain from a Greek-Turkish rapprochement.
... In our examination of the subcategory of the 'social status' of the Greek language in Istanbul, a complex picture emerged. Textual analysis revealed that under the Treaty of Lausanne, Greek theoretically enjoys the same rights as Turkish, but reported long-standing tensions between Greece and Turkey has meant that there have been frequent infringements of the Treaty and pressures applied on the community and its status (seeAlexandris 1983;Bahcheli 1990). A similar picture is presented in the historical literature of the Turkish-speaking minority in Thrace. ...
Subjective ethno-linguistic vitality expresses a group's perception of its own ability to act as a distinctive collective entity in intergroup encounters. Although subjective vitality questionnaires have proved to be reliable instruments of measurement, there has been criticism that they underestimate actual vitality (see Yagmur, this issue). A possible reason for this might be that there are other factors present that can potentially affect vitality. For example, high perceived inter-ethnic discordance may enhance group vitality by reducing the permeability of group boundaries and strengthening emotional attachment to the in-group due to identity threat. In our paper, we hypothesise that the higher the perceived discordance, the higher the subjective vitality perceptions. To measure inter-ethnic discordance, a questionnaire was developed consisting of two interrelated factors: legitimacy of intergroup situation and perceived intergroup attitudes. A large-scale survey (N=460) of representatives of the Russian-speaking community in Estonia was conducted, focusing on both the discordance and subjective vitality phenomena. Contrary to the predictions, there was a negative correlation between the discordance factor and subjective vitality perception. The implications of this finding for the notion of subjective vitality are discussed.
... In our examination of the subcategory of the 'social status' of the Greek language in Istanbul, a complex picture emerged. Textual analysis revealed that under the Treaty of Lausanne, Greek theoretically enjoys the same rights as Turkish, but reported long-standing tensions between Greece and Turkey has meant that there have been frequent infringements of the Treaty and pressures applied on the community and its status (see Alexandris 1983;Bahcheli 1990). A similar picture is presented in the historical literature of the Turkish-speaking minority in Thrace. ...
This article addresses the relationships between media, media use and language retention. In pursuing this aim, we explore the utility of ethnolinguistic vitality (EV) as a fruitful conceptual tool. The extant research on the relationship between the media and language retention and development provides an encouragement to pursue in more detail the role of media in this process: in other words to address more explicitly the features of media operation, and their relationship to audiences, which interface with the dynamics of EV. Based on four case studies of bilingual communities, the article concludes that media can be an important vehicle in maintaining and supporting EV. The extent to which this can be reached depends mostly on objective factors, such as the institutional completeness of the media landscape.
This chapter focuses on the legal value underlying the prohibition of genocide. It examines how different legal traditions, particularly the harm principle in common law and the Rechtsgut theory in civil law, converge in safeguarding fundamental values in the realm of criminal law. Building on the doctrine and analyses of domestic law, it articulates a trans-subjective approach vis-à-vis the protected legal value of the law on genocide, reconciling the subjective and objective elements of the existing theories. In this constellation, the protected group serves as the critical link between intent (mens rea) and action (actus reus). The analysis is extended to the classification of national, ethnic, racial, and religious groups, arguing for a nuanced understanding that reflects the complex interplay between group identity, legal definitions, and the collective right to exist. Ultimately, the chapter underscores the importance of balancing the subjective and objective aspects of genocide to maintain the integrity of international criminal law.
This chapter examines small island entitlements under UNCLOS in the Aegean Sea and around Cyprus. Aegean is regarded a special sea, closed or semi-closed, with only two coastline states, Turkey and Greece. There are hundreds of small Greek islands, devoid of economic sustainability, situated very close to the Turkish mainland, and hence in conflict with the Turkish continental shelf. The case of Kastellerizo/Meis is of special significance as it is only a couple of miles from the Turkish coast and depends on Turkey for its economic sustainability. Whereas Athens has used UNCLOS unilaterally, (a position adopted by the Greek Cypriot regime as shown in the next Chapter), Turkey, not a signatory to UNCLOS, has relied on the law of equity arguing for dispute settlement through political negotiations.
This chapter is about hydrocarbon dispute in Cyprus waters. It is seen that this dispute is more about politics, specifically the politics of the Cyprus Problem, than about monetizing a maritime resource for greater prosperity. If the hydrocarbons were to be developed in accordance with the 1960 Constitution, the issue would be resolved years ago, soon after the discovery of natural gas in the Aphrodite field near the Israeli maritime border. It is argued that a proper understanding of the Cypriot hydrocarbons issue requires first a review of the political consequences of Cyprus as a bi-ethnic Republic. This fact limits the freedom of the Greek Cypriot regime to act alone in claiming full entitlement of maritime rights under UNCLOS.
p>This research addresses the inter-communal dimension of the Cyprus problem. As a severely divided society Cyprus has received little attention, the overwhelming focus having been concentrated on international dimensions. The inter-communal dimension is approached in this research by placing the Greek Cypriot majority as its primary object.
The process through which political categories are secured at the level of the undisputed or commonsensical is investigated through an analysis of historical appropriations which have lent themselves to the dominant political discourse of the Greek Cypriot community. Simultaneously, the political categories through which this community was substantiated over time suggests that the orthodox-heterodox relationship between the discourses of the two communities have sustained a distinct doxic realm over time even if the form through which this relationship has been reproduced would suggest the importance, as Rogers Brubaker has recently insisted, of treating the nation as an event.
The transition from tradition to modernity was marked in Cyprus by the succession of Ottoman rule which gave way to British rule in 1878. The nationalisation process of the two communities was predicted on this transformation. By the time the Greek Cypriot majority engaged in armed insurrection with the aim of uniting the island with Greece - enosis, the Turkish Cypriot minority articulated a nationalism against both enosis and majority rule. Conflict over the right to self-determination prior to independence manifested itself as a majority/minority conflict over the issue of rights in the period succeeding independence and persisting through to the present.
This research explores these manifold issues through an examination of how these processes were produced and reproduced both in the pre and post-independence period. In doing so, it is suggested, the saliency of how inter-communal conflict proceeded remains vital in any understanding of why the Cyprus problem continues to persist in the present.</p
Mεταπτυχιακή Διπλωματική Εργασία, Μεταπτυχιακό Πρόγραμμα Διεθνών και Ευρωπαϊκών Σπουδών. Κατεύθυνση: Διεθνής Πολιτική και Ασφάλεια. Πάντειο Πανεπιστήμιο Κοινωνικών και Πολιτικών Επιστημών, 1998
In this research I assess the impact of the recently discovered gas reserves south off Cyprus on the escalation of the Cyprus conflict. I examine the ideational dynamics underpinning the conflict-inducing role of natural resources. Theoretically motivated by the discursive shift in conflict studies, I prioritise the collectively shared meanings of the Greek-Cypriot and TurkishCypriot opinion-leaders on the gas reserves and how these justify their conflictual strategies. To uncover these discourses, I apply Q-methodology, a research design tailor-made to ‘measure’ human subjectivity. I distinguish five distinct discourses. With respect to the Greek-Cypriot side, I identify (a) ‘gas boosting our geopolitical standing’, which highlights the sovereignty attributes of the natural resources, (b) ‘pipe-dreams and imported nationalisms’, which acknowledges the opportunistic motives behind the ‘geopolitical overtones’ of the GreekCypriot side and (c) ‘resentment matters’, which emphasizes the Greek-Cypriot grievances. As regards the Turkish-Cypriot side, I came across two different discourses: (e) ‘gas stimulating political equality’, where Turkish-Cypriots stress their grievances over their lack of international status and the opportunities that arise from the gas reserves discovery to reverse their international isolation and (f) ‘micro-politics’, which highlights the political opportunism of particular policymakers who capitalize on the tensions in order to serve their political careers in the face of domestic turbulence. These discourses provide a holistic framework regarding the discursive factors underpinning the conflict-inducing role of natural resources within the protracted Cyprus conflict.
The geopolitics of competing pipelines and new reserves of hydrocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean region require evaluation with realism. The Greek Cypriot leadership must heed market forces and replace emotionalism with rational behaviour: Is it worth it to stubbornly follow exclusion politics and push non-viable projects? We say No.
The 1960 Cyprus Republic, which had a bi-communal power-sharing system, could not have lasted for long and it turned from consociational democracy to majoritarian in 1963 after ethnic conflict. Attempts to find a solution to Cyprus problem still focus on ethnic power-sharing but the conditions and bi-communal relations prior to 1960 system, which are conducive to its failure, are not adequately consumed. The paper argues that, the reasons for the prolonged conflict derive from ethnic rivalry and lack of an overarching loyalty. Modernization, kin-state relations and colonial policies are the contributing factors. This paper aims to contribute to future institutional designs for not only Cyprus but for all divided societies.
The book presents an analysis of the development of the European Union's policy towards Turkey from a comparative perspective and compares the EU's approach to the issues in the EU-Turkey relationship. However, the literature on EU-Turkey relations is excessively rigid, antiquated and opinionated, reflecting the stylized version of the official approaches to issues between the two. With this in mind, the primary objective of this study is to contribute to the literature by using a comparative approach to analyse these relations. Human rights, the Greco-Turkish dispute and the security considerations of both parties are chosen as specific policy issues. Moreover, the book adopts a new approach and covers several of the key topics in the EU enlargement debate. Finally, it explores the question as to whether the EU's containment policy will be sustainable in the long term and examines possible scenarios for both parties.
In Turkish cinema, the regular narrative of exclusion or othering of minority ethnic, religious, and gender identities harnesses the nation-building process against groups that function as the ‘constitutive outsider.’ Although recent Turkish cinema has challenged many established cultural patterns, this challenge does not yet extend to stereotyped and heavily gendered constructions of Greek identity. In this paper, I argue that these constructions are persistent, and can be seen in recent films. Specifically, I demonstrate that Greek characters are limited to a few stereotypical names and roles, assigned heavy Turkish accents, and for the most part, confined to female roles depicted primarily as ‘indecent’ and/or objects of the male gaze.
The details of the legal, political, and military dispute between Greece and Turkey respecting the sharing of ocean space in the Aegean Sea have been well articulated by others.1 This contribution will not reexamine the making, existence, or implications of the Aegean Sea dispute. Rather, it will look at formal conflict resolution mechanisms, specifically the dispute resolution regime of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention), which may be of relevance to the Aegean Sea disputants.
This paper underlines the relevance of ambiguity theory to understand the persistence of frames of agents and their audience with regard to ‘self,’ ‘other’ and the ‘land’ in a protracted conflict such as Cyprus. It examines the case study of Cyprus from the signing of the Agreements on Cyprus (1959), through the Turkish intervention (1974) and until the Akinci election (2015). The paper shows how peace agreements may impose ways of looking that endure the ups and downs of social adaptation after the signing of peace agreements. These frames go on to constitute archetypes against which other frames are ordered or evaluated. Moreover, the paper shows that despite worthy suggestions to create cross-cutting linkages among the Greek and the Turkish Cypriot communities, coexistence necessitates understanding how groups are likely to frame the available options and respond to ambiguity.
The Aegean dialogue ended abruptly with the rise to power of Andreas Papandreou’s PASOK following the Greek elections of 18 October 1981 (with 48 per cent of the vote and 172 seats out of 300).1
The Aegean dispute is a complex conflict involving sovereignty, sovereign rights, natural resources (oil), freedom of transit, freedom of airspace, access to islands and ports, national security and other tangible interests. Undoubtedly, these are vital matters of national interest. However, they are not necessarily the main issues at stake.1 And this clash of interests is not the one that has made the conflict intractable. What has made a settlement impossible from 1973 until today is the subjective dimension: the huge barrier created by a mutual utter lack of trust. Both parties are absolutely convinced of the righteousness of their side and of the wrongdoing of the adversary, who is bent on changing the status quo in the Aegean. Another basic obstacle to a resolution process is the domestic factor: governments are immobilised by the sheer dread of the potential domestic cost, of being seen as giving in to the adversary, with the opposition and the public at home all too ready to cry that a sell-out is afoot. On many occasions, weak or populist governments have fanned the flames of animosity, with long-term consequences.2
The wider Greek-Turkish antagonism consists of the Aegean dispute, the Cyprus problem and issues relating to minorities, including questions related to the Patriarchate in Istanbul. Alongside the strained relations from 1974 until early 1999, a number of other issues had cropped up. Foremost among them was Turkey’s European Community/Union (EC/EU) application, which Greece blocked until the EU December 1999 summit, and the alleged support by Greece in the 1980s and 1990s given to the PKK Kurdish separatists.
The Aegean dispute over national airspace has arisen because Greece’s airspace is ten nautical miles instead of six, which is its range of territorial sea.
In February 1959, the treaties founding the Republic of Cyprus were signed, resulting in the establishment of the Republic in August 1960. The 1960 Republic of Cyprus was the culmination of efforts by Greece, Turkey, Britain, and the two Cypriot groups, stretching back more than ten years, to broker a compromise regarding governmental institutions for Cyprus. However, the state could not be translated into a workable system of government and collapsed three years after its inception. This chapter seeks to explain that failure. In so doing, it analyses whether particular features of institutional design were obstacles to successful adoption as well as examining evidence about extra-constitutional obstacles. Understanding the failure of the 1960 Republic is vital to an analysis of why the legacy of memory has so negatively affected elite relations and institution building.
‘Whispers of a Common Past’ is a joint Tandem research initiative(funded by the European Cultural Foundation) between Diadrasis NGO in Greece and the Efes Collective Memory Center in Turkey on shared intangible heritage traditions between Greek and Turkish populations. In conjunction with the project, this thesis provides the historical background of Greek and Turkish affairs and traces similarities in the cultural traditions originating from the Greek and Turkish cohabitation in the Selçuk region of Turkey prior to 1923. As this cohabitation was violently interrupted by warfare, political unrest and oppression, and ultimately a compulsory exchange of populations in 1923, this thesis will present both nationalistic and humanitarian impacts of the forced mass displacement of peoples.Using intangible heritage testimonials of refugees from both Greece and Turkey and their descendants, this paper will attempt to link shared cultural traditions still commonly practiced today in order to create a common heritage and collective memory and thereby a sense of identity and belonging between two geographically separated yet historically connected populations long in conflict with one another.The projected outcome of this paper is to promote the use of shared intangible heritage as a means of reconciliation and bridge-building between conflicting populations post-conflict and/or population displacement.
In this paper, and in the context of this special issue on fifty years since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, we present an initial historicisation of Greek-Cypriot education since 1960 using, as a narrative and intellectual device, constructs of national identity. We argue here that four different historical moments in terms of national identity construction may be extracted from the available body of scholarship - the first years of Independence (1960-1974), the early post-74 period (1974-1994), the period between 1994-2003, and, the period between 2004-2010. In these different historical moments, education appears to have been given a major role in either restructuring or reaffirming and maintaining identities, and, as a result, ethnonational identities were in flux, veering between discourses of Hellenocentric, Cypriocentric and Hellenocypriocentric identity.
There can be no peace without law. And there can be no law if we were to invoke one code of international conduct for those who oppose us and another for our friends. • President Dwight D. Eisenhower, October 31, 1954 We have before us the opportunity to forge for ourselves and for future generations a new world order, a world where the rule of law, not the rule of the jungle, governs the conduct of nations.
When a state collapses due to conflict, civilians may no longer be able to rely on state institutions to provide basic human needs such as food, health, housing and employment. Accordingly, people tend to shift from state-provided services toward family-centered forms of social capital that are especially useful as coping mechanisms in crisis situations.
This paper explores the survival strategies of Turkish Cypriot families during the war conditions of 1963/4-74. On the basis of a Key Informant Survey it attempts to empirically document the forms of social capital utilized in wartime. There is a large volume of literature on social capital, but the particular type of social capital of relevance in the Turkish Cypriot case reported below is non-formal type in conditions of war and ethnic conflict.
Out of the new sources for financing films that emerged in the post-1990 Turkish cinema, Eurimages is the only non-domestic, supra-national one wherein support decisions are taken by the representatives of various member states. Eurimages was established as a part of the framework of the Council of Europe in 1988 to foster co-operation amongst film professionals in the co-production and distribution of cinematographic works as well as to promote awareness and encourage the development of Europe’s cultural identity and diversity. Considering the experience of the first twenty years of Turkey’s membership of Eurimages, this research examines the contributions of a supranational cinema support fund – which demands a series of culturally sensitive criteria to be met - on a national cinema industry. In addition to the co-production, exhibition and distribution support provided by Eurimages, and its contribution to filmmaking practices, Turkish-initiative co-productions - those directed by Turkish filmmakers, and those whose themes are pertinent to Turkey – are analysed herein with regard to the ‘nationalness’ of their content and narrative styles. Eurimages practically has been a good source of financial support for Turkish filmmakers seeking to engage with the problematic aspects of Turkey’s national identity or simply seeking to convey the contribution of components to Turkey’s overall cultural identity. This study also reveals those representations of diversity with particular regard to ethnic, religious and gender identities through a close examination of Turkish-initiative co-productions that have been supported by the Fund.
Kuzguncuk, Istanbul, is known for its small-scale neighbourhood landscape and its close social ties, as well as its multiethnic history. The Armenian church and the mosque in Kuzguncuk have become symbolic ‘evidence’, in popular culture, of past multiethnic harmony. A Muslim elite is restoring Kuzguncuk's historic houses and its neighbourhood culture. The production of Kuzguncuk's landscape is sustained by two interrelated nostalgic narratives: a narrative of multicultural tolerance; and the narrative of the neighbourhood, the mahalle, as the urban space of belonging and familiarity. However, the ‘lie of the land’ is that this landscape obscures a contentious and traumatic minority history, and gentrification is creating new social divides. Kuzguncuk's minorities are gone. The traumas they experienced during mid-century Turkification, as well as the current divisions of class and origin in Kuzguncuk, are denied in the popular narrative. This denial attempts to hide tension embedded in the national narrative of belonging. This study of the power dynamics shaping Kuzguncuk's landscape examines the terms of belonging, of being a ‘Turk’, in Turkey, a debate which both redraws and contests the boundaries of the nation in the space of the urban.
The Aegean conflict is the main bilateral bone of contention between Greece and Turkey. The paper presents the little-known two instances of meaningful Greek–Turkish talks on the Aegean (in 1975–81 and 2002–3) highlighting points of convergence. The parameters of a settlement are obvious yet the conflict remains in place after 40 years, not permitting Greek–Turkish reconciliation. The main reason for the impasse is that behind the tangible interests at stake lie mutual fears and mistrust as to the intentions of the other party in the Aegean. This is but the tip of the iceberg of what is a deeply engrained antagonism founded on historical memories, real or imagined, that depict the ‘Other’ as the implacable enemy.
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