The imagined ‘other’ and its shifts: politics and identifications in Turkish Cyprus |
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Authors: | Magdalena Dembinska |
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Institution: | Department of Political Science, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada |
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Abstract: | This article addresses the puzzling case of shifting identity constructions in northern Cyprus, from ethnic to civic–territorial in 2003 and back to ethnic in 2009. It is argued that these shifts occurred when external factors (EU and Turkey) opened/closed windows of opportunity for internal elites’ reconfigurations. It then explains societal responsiveness to these nation-building changes sustaining that, over time, a process transforming the perception of the ‘other’ took place from below and a civic–territorial identity layer (Cypriotness) developed along the ethnic-Turkish layer. These coexist and fluctuate depending on the given context of choice. |
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Keywords: | Ethnic/civic nation-building fluctuating identifications political opportunities transformational approach Turkish Cyprus de facto state |
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