Transforming identities: Beyond the politics of non-settlement in North Cyprus

Abstract

The collapse of the Annan Plan notwithstanding, the vast support it received from Turkish Cypriots marked the culmination of a far-reaching process of social and political transformation in North Cyprus. In this article this transformation is charted and explained in terms of a reimagining of political community and cultural identity that challenged the previously prevailing Turkish nationalism. While the political implications of this reconstruction of identity patterns could be controlled by the incumbent regime until 2000, the exhaustion of the state's distributive capacities has made it possible for alternative visions of political community to be developed. However, the massive rejection of the plan by the Greek Cypriots has effectively deprived pro-settlement forces of a unifying political project. Under these circumstances, the Turkish Cypriots' will to resolve the Cyprus conflict may rapidly dissipate if reciprocity remains elusive. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd.