For nearly 60 years, the tiny Mediterranean nation of Cyprus has taken a disproportionate share of the international spotlight. In The Cyprus Problem, James Ker-Lindsay--recently appointed as expert advisor to the UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Cyprus--offers an incisive, even-handed account of the conflict. Ker-Lindsay covers all aspects of the Cyprus problem, placing it in historical context, addressing the situation as it now stands, and looking toward its possible resolution.
The five versions of the comprehensive settlement plan for Cyprus, which UN Secretary-General Annan tabled between 2002 and 2004, raised a variety of international law and European law questions. This book contains the first systematic analysis of the Annan plan, thereby providing an overview of the legal aspects of the Cyprus problem. It also discusses how the plan was intended to be accommodated in the European legal order. Did it comply with the fundamental principle of democracy, rule of law and human rights? Would a united Cyprus have been able to speak with one voice and to implement EU law properly? The Author, who has worked both for the European Commission and for the UN Special Advisor on Cyprus, presents a precise account of facts and thorough legal assessments. He also tackles current legal problems arising out of Cyprus' membership in the EU and the suspension of the "acquis communautaire" in the northern part of Cyprus. He finally analyses how the question of recognition affects the relations between Cyprus and Turkey. The book is an ideal choice for practitioners and researchers because it combines first hand information on the most recent developments on Cyprus with legal evaluations from an international official trained in international and European law.
For nearly 60 years--from its uprising against British rule in the 1950s, to the bloody civil war between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in the 1970s, and the United Nation's ongoing 30-year effort to reunite the island--the tiny Mediterranean nation of Cyprus has taken a disproportionate share of the international spotlight. And while it has been often in the news, accurate and impartial information on the conflict has been nearly impossible to obtain. In The Cyprus Problem: What Everyone Needs to Know®, James Ker-Lindsay--recently appointed as expert advisor to the UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Cyprus--offers an incisive, even-handed account of the conflict. Ker-Lindsay covers all aspects of the Cyprus problem, placing it in historical context, addressing the situation as it now stands, and looking toward its possible resolution. The book begins with the origins of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities as well as the other indigenous communities on the island (Maronites, Latin, Armenians, and Gypsies). Ker-Lindsay then examines the tensions that emerged between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots after independence in 1960 and the complex constitutional provisions and international treaties designed to safeguard the new state. He pays special attention to the Turkish invasion in 1974 and the subsequent efforts by the UN and the international community to reunite Cyprus. The book's final two chapters address a host of pressing issues that divide the two Cypriot communities, including key concerns over property, refugee returns, and the repatriation of settlers. Ker-Lindsay concludes by considering whether partition really is the best solution, as many observers increasingly suggest. Written by a leading expert, The Cyprus Problem brings much needed clarity and understanding to a conflict that has confounded observers and participants alike for decades. What Everyone Needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.
This is a book on the interrelationship of the EU legal order and the Cyprus issue. The book addresses a question which is of great significance for the legal order of the EU (as well as for Cypriots, Turks and Greeks), namely how the Union deals with the de facto division of the island. Despite the partial normalisation of relations between the two ethno-religious groups on the island, Cyprus' accession to the EU has not led to its reunification, nor to the restoration of human rights, nor a complete end to the political and economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community. Ironically enough, the accession of the island to the EU actually added a new dimension to the division of the island. According to Protocol 10 on Cyprus to the Act of Accession 2003, the Republic of Cyprus joined the Union with its entire territory. However, due to the fact that its Government cannot exercise effective control over the whole island, pending a settlement, the application of the acquis is 'suspended in those areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not have effective control.' Given this unprecedented (for an EU Member State) situation of not controlling part of its territory, the book analyses the limits of the suspension of the Union acquis in the areas north of the Green Line. In other words, the telos of this particularly challenging research is to map the partial application of Union law in an area where there are two competing claims of authority.
This book is not another history of the Cyprus problem. It is an analysis of the forces and policies which led to the traumatic experience of 1974 and the geographical separation of the two largest Cypriot communities (the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots). Also, it is an analysis of those forces which keep the island divided. Why is Cyprus a divided island? What led to this division? What forces keep the two communities apart? Why was the Annan Plan rejected? How important is the role of the "motherlands"? Are there any geostrategic interests? Why is Cyprus important in the geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean? This book deals with these and other questions, and the analysis is based on declassified documents and other primary material.
Humans are good at making war—and much less successful at making peace. Genocide, torture, slavery, and other crimes against humanity are gross violations of human rights that are frequently perpetrated and legitimized in the name of nationalism, militarism, and economic development. This book tackles the question of how to make peace by taking a critical look at the primary political mechanism used to "repair" the many injuries suffered in war. With an explicit focus on reparations and human rights, it examines the broad array of abuses being perpetrated in the modern era, from genocide to loss of livelihood. Based on the experiences of anthropologists and others who document abuses and serve as expert witnesses, case studies from around the world offer insight into reparations proceedings; the ethical struggles associated with attempts to secure reparations; the professional and personal risks to researchers, victims, and human rights advocates; and how to come to terms with the political compromises of reparations in the face of the human need for justice. Waging War, Making Peace promises to be a major contribution to public policy, political science, international relations, and human rights and peace research.
This unique collection of essays, available for the first time in paperback, provides a multi-faceted analysis of the Cyprus conflict. It sees the conflict both at a historical and at an analytical crossroads, and brings together leading scholars from various disciplines to provide fresh perspectives on the long-standing issues surrounding Cyprus. The four parts of the book deal first with domestic determinants of the conflict and its resolution, then with external influences, before comparing Cyprus to other conflict cases and finally including approaches beyond political science. The application of different methodological and theoretical approaches, from rational choice to gender studies, to a single case, allows for their comparison and make this a must-read not only for those interested in Cyprus, but for all students of conflict resolution.
This book offers a comprehensive overview of several aspects of the property issue in the Cyprus conflict (historical, legal, political and financial) and proposes a number of win-win solutions to this complicated issue. The Cyprus problem is one of the longest frozen conflicts in the world. Many books feature the Cyprus problem in general, but there are only a few commentaries on the property issue, i.e. what will be the fate of about 500,000 acres of private land left by Greek Cypriots in the north and about 140,000 acres of private land left by the Turkish Cypriots in the south in the event of a political settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation. Although largely unremarked by those outside Cyprus, the property issue is probably the thorniest and most complicated one in the negotiations and at the same time the key to the solution of this long lasting conflict. It affects a very large percentage of the population and has enormous political, legal, financial and social implications. It has become even more difficult and complicated because of the passing of 44 years since the forceful division of Cyprus as a result of the Turkish invasion and the consolidation of its consequences on the ground. The negotiations between the leaders of the two sides in Cyprus have reached a stalemate as a result of the deadlock in the Crans Montana Conference which was conducted in the presence of the UN Secretary General. A new round of talks will hopefully start after the June 2018 general elections in Turkey. The book could be a useful tool in the hands of all parties involved or interested in the negotiations, including the United Nations Good Offices Mission and the European Union representatives. The book, however, is expected to remain a useful reference book for the future, whether the talks succeed or fail. It can be also of interest to a wider audience, including academics, politicians and policy makers, mediators, the law society, property professionals, post-graduate students doing research on international conflict politics and ordinary people in Cyprus and elsewhere interested in the Cyprus problem or with a personal interest as dispossessed owners or secondary users. The author's interest in this topic is due to his involvement, initially as a member and later as the head of the Greek Cypriot group on property in the intercommunal talks from April 2008 until February 2012, as well as a member of the group between April 2014 and August 2015. His experience with this issue has led him to the strong belief that, although property is a complex issue, an agreement on it between the two sides is possible, provided that both will demonstrate the necessary political will, but also if practical common sense and technocratic approaches are applied. It is the author's view that the leaders/ negotiators should confine themselves to the target of reaching a strategic agreement on the core issues. The involvement of technocrats is necessary both in the stage of the discussion of the core issues in advising on several alternative scenarios and also after such a strategic agreement is reached, in working on the legal and technical details required for adding flesh to the bones. Another important task of the technocrats should be to propose win-win ideas. Bits and pieces of such ideas can be found in the proposals of both sides and in other ideas that have been proposed from time to time and in several studies and articles of experts on the property issue. The author himself proposes several innovative ideas which could be for the benefit of both parties in the conflict.
What is the significance of sustainable resource management for the functioning of Mediterranean island societies? How do human-environment relations reflect in a multi-ethnic religious landscape? This book poses these questions in the context of the Ottoman, British, and modern history of Cyprus. It explores the socio-ecological dimension of the Cyprus conflict and considers the role of local environmental practices for historical coexistence and modern division. The book synthesizes theoretical approaches from the research on 'religion and ecology' with the anthropology of Cyprus, with the goal to develop and establish an ecological perspective on coexistence and conflict in the Mediterranean. Religion is seen as the place where local representations of nature and traditions of resource management are generated and maintained. The work takes a comparative look at the impact of Eastern Orthodox and Islamic institutions on the island's landscape, as well as the religious and economic practices of the rural peasant communities. The findings are then spelled out in the context of current discourses on religion, environmental ethics, and social justice.
