To Nicosia and Back: A Latter Day Excursion Through the Inglorious Arts of Peace
This study investigated the following research question: Which theory of international relations among the realist, liberal, and institutional models best explains the absence of a peace settlement between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots? Consistent with this research question, the hypothesis that was tested through the conduct of this study was as follows: The realist model of international relations provides a stronger explanation for the absence of a peace settlement between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots than does either the liberal or institutional model of international relations.
Two highly divisive forces at play globally in the contemporary period are nationalism and ethnicity. While these forces are not confronted by all states, no settled global region is immune from problems stemming from these forces. Such problems are exacerbated where ethnicity and nationalism interact. The longer that such problems are allowed to simmer, the more intractable they appear to become. One such case involves the island of Cyprus, where Greek and Turkish communities have resided in a state of shared tension for around four centuries. The Cyprus Puzzle, the situation involving the two communities and the search for a solution to the issues that divide them, is referred to widely as the "Cyprus Problem."
The method followed in the conduct of this study was a combination of bibliographic research and theoretical analysis. Through the application of this method, the events that have characterized the Cyprus Puzzle over the decades and the positions and behaviors of the principal actors were analyzed within the context of international relations theory to classify them as realist, liberal, or institutionalist as a means of developing a theoretical explanation for the absence of a peace settlement between the Greek Cypriots and ...