Le nationalisme au cœur du processus de paix à Chypre nord : les limites de la qualification « intercommunautaire » par l’ONU et l’Union européenne

Abstract

This article analyses the limits of the main political discourses used by local and international actors, branding the Cyprus issue as an “intercommunal” or “bicommunal” conflict. It relies on a study of political developments in Northern Cyprus, a fieldwork done in Cyprus in 2018 and two interviews conducted with members of the European commission in the Cyprus Settlement Support Unit in 2020. Three main ideas come out of this analysis. The first is that this branding affects the geopolitics of the island of Cyprus. On the one hand, it has been used to set the international legal framework that binds the peace efforts that have failed to find a lasting solution for the past 45 years. On the other, it validates Turkey’s stance on the Cyprus issue. Secondly, the term “bicommunal” cannot explain the major changes in the politics of Northern Cyprus since 2003. Focusing on the “intercommunal” definition of the conflict doesn’t account for the political and demographic cleavages within the Turkish Cypriot community. Finally, since the Republic of Cyprus accessed the European union in 2004, a new level of complexity has been added to the Cyprus issue. The EU’s strategy on the island through its attachment to a strict reading of international law, found itself locked into the framework that has prevented any major breakthroughs.

Keywords

• Cyprus
• Turkey
• identity
• European union
• nationalism
• community