Cyprus and the Violence of Bordering 50 Years On

City, University of London, 7-8 November 2024

The island of Cyprus is known to most in Europe as a popular holiday destination; the violent history and the ongoing (if stable) conflict on the island is easily forgotten by tourists who enjoy the sunny beaches, the rich archaeological sites, and the club scene of Agia Napa. Yet for half a century Cyprus has remained divided. In August 1974 Turkish forces occupied the island and initiated a process of violent partition against the backdrop of two decades of conflict: first with the British in the fight for independence and then among Greek and Turkish ethnic groups trying to get a footing in national and municipal politics while hamstrung by an unworkable constitution.

Cyprus is part of an archipelago of hybrid spaces in the eastern Mediterranean. Historically governed under Hellenic, Venetian, Byzantine and Ottoman rule, in 1878 the island was leased to Britain, and then formally annexed as a crown colony in 1914. The complex international and regional politics of decolonization laid the ground for the partition of the island. Since the 1950s the ‘Cyprus question’ has become a permanent fixture in international politics, and ever since multiple plans have been proposed for the ‘solution’ to the Cyprus question; those that have been implemented have failed to unify the communities and establish peace.

This workshop will bring together scholars from various disciplines and paradigms (politics, IR, history, literature, anthropology, media and communications, sociology, journalism, geography, migration studies, border studies, peace and conflict studies) to discuss new research on the past and present of the Cyprus question 50 years on from the events of 1974. We welcome applications from academics, early career scholars, policy professionals, and practitioners working in community-based initiatives. The workshop will take the form of an in-person event with paper presentations and discussion over one day, and a linked panel event.

A small amount of travel support will be available for early career researchers, please indicate if you would like to be considered for this support. The successful applicants will be notified by 1 July 2024. Full drafts will be due by 16 October 2024 for circulation to workshop attendees.

Interested applicants should submit a 500-word abstract and a short 2-page CV in one document by 15 May 2024 to alexandria.innes@city.ac.uk and georgios.giannakopoulos@city.ac.uk with the subject line “Partitioning Cyprus”.

IMAGE CREDIT: DRONEPICR, “GREEN LINE BUFFER ZONE”.

We invite new work responding, but not limited, to the following questions:
•
Where does the Cypriot experience sit in the context of the global history of territorial partitions?
•
What is the dynamic relationship between emotion and territoriality that sustains conflict?
•
In what ways does the partition keep peace on the island (and beyond) and in what ways does it sustain violence?
•
How does population dislocation compromise prospects for a resolution?
•
What is the logic of the solutions proposed by the international community and why have they failed?