We present the book by Dr. Pavlos I. Koktsidis, Senior Research Fellow of ISPD, titled “Ethnofederalism in Cyprus: Territory, Power and Security”, recently published by Routledge Publications.
Book Description
Why has it been so difficult to settle the Cyprus conflict? What are the root causes of the Cyprus conflict’s intractability and how does the Cyprus problem relate to the power-competition and security seeking ambitions of all actors involved in the negotiating process? The Republic of Cyprus lies divided at the heart of the volatile Eastern Mediterranean region, surrounded by bloody conflicts, fragmentation, extremism and foreign interventions. Despite its EU membership, Cyprus is still faced with the condition of forceful partition, following Turkey’s military invasion in 1974. The Cyprus status quo, which is somewhat mistakenly perceived as ‘frozen’, hangs on a thin balance of internal, regional and international power relations.
- What is the focus of the book?
The book focuses on the firmly ingrained competitive security drives that undermine efforts to resolve the Cyprus Question. The analysis demonstrates thoroughly that failure reaching a mutually acceptable settlement stems from calculated competitive efforts to increase security, a strong grip on strategic influence (i.e. Turkey) and from trying to avoid the possibility of captivity and entrapment. The book demonstrates how institutional, constitutional and military aspects of the proposed federal solution have ultimately turned the entire negotiations process into competitive bargaining.
- How does the book treat the problem of intractability?
Influenced by the precepts of the Realist School in international relations, the book provides a systematic and concise critique of the proposed federal bi-zonal framework for Cyprus and explains why it has so far failed to deliver a promised settlement. The analysis acknowledges that negotiation occurs between competing parties, rather than potential partners, and reveals the competitive security underpinnings that cut across all major institutional, constitutional and military aspects of the negotiated framework. The book clearly explains how parties interpret federal arrangements in antagonistic terms in a reasonable attempt to avoid domination, absorption, and the ultimate reduction of political power.
- What makes the book different from other similar works?
The book challenges the idea of military security as the sole major obstacle to reaching a viable solution to the conflict in Cyprus. It also challenges the peace-building preconceptions that failure to resolve the problem is motivated by nationalist fervor, intergenerational emotional-psychological fixations and uncompromising fanaticism. Drawing from realist interpretations of regional and international politics, the analysis regards the above as epiphenomenal expressions of a serious international political problem, and symptomatic manifestations of systemic uncertainty and security pressures.
- What does the book offer to the reader?
The book offers a well-grounded account of intractability in Cyprus by unfolding the rationale and prevalence of competitive approaches held by Greek and Turkish Cypriots alike, and explains how crude security interests, power-maximization and revisionist ambitions have given birth to an existentialist security dilemma that has so far prevented Greek and Turkish Cypriots from reaching a settlement.
Why has it been so difficult to settle the Cyprus conflict? What are the root causes of the Cyprus conflict’s intractability and how does the Cyprus problem relate to the power-competition and security seeking ambitions of all actors involved in the negotiating process? The Republic of Cyprus lies divided at the heart of the volatile Eastern Mediterranean region, surrounded by bloody conflicts, fragmentation, extremism and foreign interventions. Despite its EU membership, Cyprus is still faced with the condition of forceful partition, following Turkey’s military invasion in 1974. The Cyprus status quo, which is somewhat mistakenly perceived as ‘frozen’, hangs on a thin balance of internal, regional and international power relations.
- What is the focus of the book?
The book focuses on the firmly ingrained competitive security drives that undermine efforts to resolve the Cyprus Question. The analysis demonstrates thoroughly that failure reaching a mutually acceptable settlement stems from calculated competitive efforts to increase security, a strong grip on strategic influence (i.e. Turkey) and from trying to avoid the possibility of captivity and entrapment. The book demonstrates how institutional, constitutional and military aspects of the proposed federal solution have ultimately turned the entire negotiations process into competitive bargaining.
- How does the book treat the problem of intractability?
Influenced by the precepts of the Realist School in international relations, the book provides a systematic and concise critique of the proposed federal bi-zonal framework for Cyprus and explains why it has so far failed to deliver a promised settlement. The analysis acknowledges that negotiation occurs between competing parties, rather than potential partners, and reveals the competitive security underpinnings that cut across all major institutional, constitutional and military aspects of the negotiated framework. The book clearly explains how parties interpret federal arrangements in antagonistic terms in a reasonable attempt to avoid domination, absorption, and the ultimate reduction of political power.
- What makes the book different from other similar works?
The book challenges the idea of military security as the sole major obstacle to reaching a viable solution to the conflict in Cyprus. It also challenges the peace-building preconceptions that failure to resolve the problem is motivated by nationalist fervor, intergenerational emotional-psychological fixations and uncompromising fanaticism. Drawing from realist interpretations of regional and international politics, the analysis regards the above as epiphenomenal expressions of a serious international political problem, and symptomatic manifestations of systemic uncertainty and security pressures.
- What does the book offer to the reader?
The book offers a well-grounded account of intractability in Cyprus by unfolding the rationale and prevalence of competitive approaches held by Greek and Turkish Cypriots alike, and explains how crude security interests, power-maximization and revisionist ambitions have given birth to an existentialist security dilemma that has so far prevented Greek and Turkish Cypriots from reaching a settlement.
