Geocultural Power: Cyprus and the Turn in Identities

Document Type : Original Article

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Department of Regional Studies, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran

10.22059/jices.2024.372360.1063

Abstract

Politics in Cyprus, an island state divided between two communities of Turkish and Greek descent, since 1974 has been marred with communal violence and foreign interventions. Nevertheless, joining the EU was celebrated as an important milestone for the future reunification of the island. Despite continued opposition of Turkey to any solution with a unified Cyprus as an outcome, Cyprus has changed its stance, embracing cooperation with Turkish side of the island as well as regional cooperation with the neighboring countries in the Mediterranean Sea. Thus, the main research question is as follows: what has prompted Cyprus to shift its geocultural stance from a communal, helleno-centric to a pan-Cypriotic identity? To answer this question, it is hypothesized that joining the EU with its Copenhagen requirements such as respect for and protection of minorities led the Cypriot government to adopt a geocultural strategy promoting the pan-Cypriot identity. Drawing on Hannerz’s framework of geocultural theory, this article will investigate the change in geocultural stance of Cyprus. A qualitative methodology was selected and was carried out by content analysis of official documents, Cypriot policies and EU documents. The results indicate that the same heritage diplomacy once used as a geocultural strategy to highlight the Hellenic identity of the Republic of Cyprus was incorporated under a new geocultural strategy after Cyprus joined the EU in order to promote regional cooperation. The findings show that the compatibility of Eurocentric identity with the Cypriocentric identity and its role as a possible reunification vehicle for the island induced the Cypriot government to promote its Turkish and Muslim heritage as part of its geocultural turn.
 

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