Copyright (c) 2009 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides Recent documents in Neophytos Loizides en-us Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:54:54 PST 3600 http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/17 http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/17 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:40:57 PDT The article aims to resolve tensions between legal, humanitarian and pragmatic considerations in the evaluation of settler questions in contested territories, looking primarily at populations relocated from Turkey to Cyprus after 1974. The presence of Turkish settlers complicates mediations for a federal settlement in the island and constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. However, in sociological terms, the Turkish settlers meet the profile of an immigrant population more interested in welfare and daily survival issues than in politics. In contrast to other contemporary or historical cases of settler colonialism, what is particularly puzzling in Cyprus is the absence of mobilization and politicization among settlers despite perceived discrimination and fears of relocation following a negotiated peace agreement. Moreover, the increasing presence of settlers in the island has triggered domestic insecurities and native discourses emphasizing Cypriot identities and interests. However, for the most part, both Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaderships have attempted in various ways to accommodate the settler question in the negotiations. Aiming to link the actors' perceptions with the need for a negotiated federal settlement, the article examines a variety of possible arrangements and their potential consequences for settlers and the two communities in Cyprus. Neophytos Loizides Selected Conference Papers http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/16 http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/16 Wed, 27 May 2009 14:17:07 PDT This article evaluates theories of nationalism by examining the formation of Kurdish nationalism in Turkey. It deals particularly with different manifestations of the contemporary Kurdish question and provides an account for the late development of nationalism in the Kurdish regions of the country. It situates the Kurdish experience within the broader experience of the post-Ottoman world and analyzes the awakening of Kurdish national identity among broader segments of the population. It provides an alternative to Ernest Gellner's functionalist account of nationalism and industrialization by stressing the link between state policies and minority nationalism. It considers the political, psychological and other implications of state repression as well as the opportunities created in the diaspora or through external intervention. It argues that state policies in Turkey did not prevent and even contributed to the rise of minority nationalism. Finally, the article raises two interrelated questions: what types of nationalism have Kurds developed under conditions of limited expression and what options for conflict resolution are present particularly in light of Turkey's EU accession process. Neophytos Loizides Articles http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/15 http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/15 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:57:19 PDT The article examines why issues of mainly symbolic significance often overshadow problems of potentially higher security risk for a country. To answer this question, it looks at Greek reactions to the use of the name "Macedonia" by the neighboring republic since the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. It utilizes debates from the Hellenic Parliament as the main source of empirical evidence to illustrate how the "name issue" became a major priority in Greek politics, sidelining arguably more threatening and urgent disputes with Albania and Turkey. The analysis demonstrates on Turkish and Albanian issues a sizeable 'dovish' camp championing ideas of reconciliation and compromise. On the contrary, "hawks" succeeded in monopolizing framing and fostering an early nationalist consensus on the Macedonian issue. As the crisis unfolded, elite consensus on the rightness and efficacy of nationalism prevented adaptation to new conditions and reassessment of contrary information. Symbolic politics redefined the meaning of security and the country's priorities, eventually leading to elite entrapment when compromise was desirable and necessary. Neophytos Loizides Selected Conference Papers http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/14 http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/14 Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:38:23 PDT The fate of missing persons is a central issue in post-conflict societies facing truth recovery and human rights dilemmas. Despite widespread public sympathy towards relatives, societies emerging from conflict often defer the recovery of missing for decades. More paradoxically, in post-1974 Cyprus, the official authorities delayed unilateral exhumations of victims buried within cemeteries in their own jurisdiction. Analysis of official post-1974 discourse reveals a Greek-Cypriot consensus to emphasise the issue as one of Turkish aggression, thus downplaying in-group responsibilities and the legacy of intra-communal violence. We compare the experience of Cyprus with other post-conflict societies such as Spain, Northern Ireland, and Mozambique and explore the linkages between institutions and beliefs about transitional justice. We argue that elite consensus initiates and facilitates the transition to democracy but often leads to the institutionalization of groups opposing truth recovery even for in-group members. Iosif Kovras Articles http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/13 http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/13 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:02:48 PDT Following the 1994 genocide, several justice initiatives were implemented in Rwanda, including a tribunal established by the United Nations, Rwanda's national court system and Gacaca, a 'traditional' community-run conflict resolution mechanism adapted to prosecute genocide perpetrators. Since their inception in 2001, the Gacaca courts have been praised for their efficiency and for widening participation but criticized for lack of due process, trained personnel and attention to atrocities committed by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). To evaluate these criticisms, we survey 227 Rwandans and analyze their attitudes towards Gacaca in relation to demographic characteristics such as education, residence and loss of relatives during the genocide. Amaka Megwalu Articles http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/12 http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/12 Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:30:28 PDT Negotiating the right of return is a central issue in post-conflict societies aiming to resolve tensions between human rights issues and security concerns. Peace proposals often fail to carefully balance these tensions or to identify incentives and linkages that enable refugee return. To address this gap, the article puts forward an alternative arrangement in negotiating refugee rights currently being considered in the bilateral negotiations in Cyprus. Previous peace plans for the reunification of the island emphasized security and stipulated a maximum number of Greek Cypriot refugees eligible to return under future Turkish Cypriot administration. The authors' alternative suggests a minimum threshold of Greek Cypriots refugees plus self-adjustable incentives for the Turkish Cypriot community to accept the rest. The article reviews different options including linking actual numbers of returnees with naturalizations for Turkish settlers or immigrants, Turkey's EU-accession, and territorial re-adjustments across the federal border. In this proposed formula, the Greek Cypriot side would reserve concessions until refugee return takes place while the Turkish Cypriot community would be 'demographically secure' under all scenarios by means of re-adjustable naturalization and immigration quotas. Drawing parallels with comparable cases, the article emphasizes the importance of making reciprocity and linkages explicit in post-conflict societies. Neophytos Loizides Articles http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/11 http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/11 Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:16:13 PDT Relating nationalism to other ideologies or cultural values is one of the most enigmatic scholarly activities. The enigma lies in the kaleidoscopic nature of nationalism and the ease with which it adapts or relates to philosophically opposed ideologies (Hutchinson & Smith, 1994, 3). For example, nationalism often assumes ties to liberalism, even though it presupposes a strong commitment to the national community that transcends individualism. It accommodates conservatism fairly well despite nationalism's modernizing mission, and it has often been paired with communism, despite the latter's internationalist rhetoric. More surprisingly, nationalism and religion often go hand in hand, despite their deep philosophical inconsistencies. Nationalism is inherently local, philosophically poor, and limited and it lacks the belief in afterlife salvation and creative intelligence as source of meaning behind the universe (Anderson, 1983; Greenfeld, 1996b). Yet it frequently relates to religions such as Christianity and Islam which are universal in their membership and message of salvation. The article examines the latter relationship, namely that of nationalism and religion, through evidence from Southeast Europe in the past three centuries. It identifies religious and linguistic cleavages as alternative sources of identity construction and points to the extent to which the interplay of the two can help us understand and evaluate contemporary theories of nationalism. Based on the Balkan experience, the article evaluates theories of nationalism put forward by Ernest Gellner (1983), Benedict Anderson (1983), Miroslav Hroch (1985), Anthony Smith (1971) and John Hutchinson (1987). It finally identifies the degree to which religion and nationalism have adapted to serve domestic constraints, new ideological waves and opportunities for ethnonational expansion or contraction facing modern nationalist movements as argued elsewhere by Hroch (1985 & 1998), Magocsi (1997) and Laitin, (1998). Neophytos Loizides Articles http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/8 http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/8 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:31:10 PDT A two-round presidential election was held in Cyprus on February 17 and February 24, 2008. The election was the first to take place after the country's accession to the European Union and the abortive UN-planned referendum on reunification in 2004. It was also the first to be contended and won by a leader of AKEL, the communist party of Cyprus. The 2008 election took place in a highly politicized environment, in the midst of concern over the future of bicommunal negotiations. Incumbent President Tassos Papadopoulos rallied the nationalist vote against his moderate rivals Ioannis Kasoulides from centre right DISY and Dimitris Christofias from AKEL. A surprise electoral outcome was the elimination of Tassos Papadopoulos in the first round despite polls predicting the contrary. Dimitris Christofias became President, and efforts to reunify the island resumed after his election to the presidency. Neophytos Loizides Articles http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/7 http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/7 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:23:46 PDT With the majority of peace agreements facing implementation problems at a global scale it is hardly surprising that questions about the political viability and workability of Annan Plan V featured prominently in the 2004 referendum campaigns of the two Cypriot communities. Preceding the referendum, one of the two major Greek Cypriot political parties, AKEL, justified its refusal to endorse the plan, citing issues of implementation, while in polls following the referendum, the majority of Greek Cypriots (61.9 per cent) stated they would support the plan if concerns on security and implementation were guaranteed (Christophoros Christophorou & Graig Webster 2004:4). Similar arguments on security and implementation were put forward in the Turkish Cypriot community, albeit with less success for the anti-deal camp. This chapter evaluates three main arguments made by opponents of the plan: a) the analogy drawn between the Annan Plan and the Zürich-London Agreements of 1959; b) the criticism of federalism and consociationalism as unfair and dysfunctional; and, finally, c) Turkey's role and credibility in implementing the agreement, especially if it were denied EU membership. The chapter questions and criticizes the arguments and assumptions of the anti-deal camp, while at the same time recognizing important limitations and gaps in the Annan Plan itself. Neophytos Loizides Contributions to Books http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/6 http://works.bepress.com/neophytos_loizides/6 Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:25:24 PDT This article examines the effects of elite framing in conflict transformation. It utilizes debates from the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) as the main source of empirical evidence and demonstrates differences in the way Turkish parliamentarians framed national and foreign policy issues in the 1990s. For the most part, elite framing of Kurdish issues was predominantly monolithic and adversarial towards 'ethnic others' demonstrating few challenges to dominant nationalist narratives and discourses, while framing of Greek-Turkish disputes was diverse, with moderates cautiously challenging hardliners on the necessity of cooperating with Greece. The article unravels these elite framing strategies and illustrates how framing becomes embedded in public identities, opportunity structures, and definitions of national interest, influencing crisis escalation and conflict management in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Neophytos Loizides Articles