Turkish Cypriot identity after 1974: Turkish Cypriots, Turks of Cyprus or Cypriots?


Published: Apr 12, 2019
Keywords:
Ottoman Empire Cyprus Turkish Cypriots Cypriot Identity
Ioannis Moutsis
Abstract

The hopes created by the unexpected triumph of Mustafa Akıncı in the Turkish Cypriot parliamentary elections in 2015 opened once again the debate about Turkish Cypriot identity. Despite the various works on the issue since the opening of the borders in 2003, the issue of identity in the Turkish Cypriot community still remains under-researched. The hope of the Turkish Cypriots for reunification and an end to political isolation was replaced by skepticism after the rejection of the 2004 Annan Plan by the Greek Cypriots in a national referendum. Nevertheless the election of Mustafa Akιncı with an overwhelming sixty percent proves that the Turkish Cypriots should not be considered as loyal to the AKP-controlled Turkish political order as perhaps they were once thought to be. This article will attempt to examine the various aspects of Turkish Cypriot identity, as this has been formed by the Cyprus issue, their fifty-year-long isolation and the hope for an end of the present status quo that will open a window to the outside world forty-one years after the 1974 war and eleven years after the Annan Plan referenda.

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Author Biography
Ioannis Moutsis
Ioannis Moutsis was born in Athens. He holds a BA in History from the Democritus University of Thrace, an MA in Modern Turkish Studies from SOAS, University of London and a PhD in History from SOAS. He has taught Turkish History in Panteion University. His research interests include Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, the role of the press in the process of nation building. He has published articles on the history of the Turkish Cypriot community and on the Turkish foreign policy. 
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