The rise of ethno-nationalism in Cyprus under the British Rule: 1878-1960

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2010

Öğrenci: PINAR KADIOĞLU

Danışman: PINAR KÖKSAL

Özet:

This thesis is an attempt to inquire the origins of the Cyprus conflict by analyzing the historical developments that laid the ground for the inter-communal dispute in the late 1950s, while focusing on the structural dimension of the rise of ethnonationalisms in the island. The special emphasis is given to the British period 1878-1960 in the historical analysis since the ethno-religious identity consciousnesses of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities in the island started to turn into ethnonational ones and later into antagonistic nationalisms during this era. The study’s underlying premise is that although different identity perceptions existed much earlier among the two communities of the island, the inconsistent policies of the British administration that shifted in accordance with its interests in the Mediterranean region enabled the emergence of a conducive environment for the politicization and manipulation of these diverse identity perceptions. The Greek and Turkish nationalisms gained strength in this era and gradually transformed into antagonistic nationalisms motivated by different political goals about the future of the island. These developments would be the main reason of the inter-communal violence in Cyprus that arose in late 1950s and also in the following years till the permanent territorial partition in 1974.