Research Article
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1955’te İngiliz Parlamento Tartışmalarında Kıbrıs: Şiddet, Müzakere ve Sömürgeci Anlatı

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 55 - 72
https://doi.org/10.33709/ictimaiyat.1724680

Abstract

Bu makale, 1955 yılında İngiliz parlamentosunda Kıbrıs konusunda yapılan tartışmaları söylem analizi yöntemlerini kullanarak inceler ve sömürge meşrulaştırma stratejilerinin çelişkilerini ortaya koyar. 1 Nisan 1955’te EOKA’nın silahlı direnişinin ardından, ‘terörizm’, ‘kanun ve düzen’, ‘sadakat’ ve ‘meşru savunma’ gibi kavramlar güvenlik odaklı söylemin odak noktası haline gelirken, anayasa reformu talepleri ya çekincelerle kabul edildi ya da reddedildi. 97 parlamento tartışmasına, özellikle 5 Mayıs ve 5 Aralık 1955 tarihlerindeki tartışmalara dayanan çalışma, bu ikisi arasındaki gerilimin nasıl çözüldüğünü göstermektedir. Çalışma, 5 Aralık 1955 tarihli tartışmayı kullanarak, güvenlik ve reform söylemleri arasındaki gerilimin yıl boyunca nasıl sürdüğünü ve egemenliğin ‘ahlaki sorumluluk’, ‘medeniyet görevi’ ve ‘jeopolitik gereklilik’ gibi temalara dayanan etik bir söylem aracılığıyla nasıl yeniden tanımlandığını göstermektedir. Sonuç olarak 1955 yılı, hem sömürge yönetiminin söylemsel olarak sağlamlaştırılması hem de 1956 yılındaki daha sert politikaların temellerinin atılması açısından emperyalizm sonrası süreçte önemli bir dönüm noktası olarak kabul edildi.

Ethical Statement

Yazar(lar), çalışmanın hazırlanma sürecinde etik ilkelere uyduklarını beyan etmiştir.

References

  • UK, Hansard, 1950-1959, Sittings in 1950s (Parliamentary Debates). https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/sittings/1950s [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, 1954. Sittings in 1954 (Parliamentary Debates). https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/sittings/1954/index.html [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, 1955. Sittings in 1955 (Parliamentary Debates). https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/sittings/1955/index.html [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 05 December 1955 vol. 547, cc. 32-156, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1955/may/05/cyprus/index.html [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 05 May 1955 vol. 540, cc. 1910-71, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1955/may/05/cyprus/index.htm [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 09 March 1955 vol 538 cc. 436-74, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1955/mar/09/riots [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 13 July 1955 vol 543 cc. 1910-1, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1955/jul/13/cyprus-athens-radio-broadcasts [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 16 November 1955 vol 546 cc. 41-2W, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1955/nov/16/constitution [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 28 November 1955 vol. 546 cc. 1932-5, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1955/nov/28/cyprus-situation/index.html [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HL Deb 06 April 1955 vol. 192, cc. 319-21, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1955/apr/06/cyprus-disturbances/index.html [Electronic version].
  • Anderson, D. M. (1993). Policing and communal conflict: The Cyprus emergency, 1954–60. The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 21(3), 177–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/03086539308582912
  • Clogg, R. (2021). A concise history of Greece. Cambridge University Press.
  • Dodd, C. (2010). The history and the politics of Cyprus. London: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230275287
  • Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and power (2nd ed.). London: Longman.
  • French, D. (2015). Fighting EOKA: The British counter-insurgency campaign on Cyprus, 1955-1959. Oxford University Press.
  • Gazioğlu, A. C. (1998). İngiliz yönetiminde Kıbrıs III (1951-1959): Enosise karşı taksim ve eşit egemenlik. Lefkoşa: Kıbrıs Araştırma ve Yayın Merkezi (CYREP).
  • Gürel, Ş. S. (1985). Kıbrıs tarihi, 1878-1960: Kolonyalizm, ulusçuluk, ve uluslararası politika. Kaynak Yayınları.
  • Ioannides, C. P. (2018). Cyprus under British Colonial Rule: Culture, Politics, and the Movement toward Union with Greece, 1878–1954. Lexington Books.
  • Karyos, A. (2021). The armed struggle against British colonial rule in Cyprus, 1955-1959: EOKA’s strategic mentality and tactics. MDD Publishing.
  • Kelling, G. H. (1990). Countdown to rebellion: British policy in Cyprus, 1939-1955. Praeger.
  • Ker-Lindsay, J. (2011). The Cyprus problem: What everyone needs to know. Oxford University Press.
  • Kitaeva, E., & Ozerova, O. (2019). Intertextuality in political discourse. In Ö. Çakırtas, Language, power, and ideology in political writing: Emerging research and opportunities (pp. 143-170). IGI Global.
  • Novo, A. (2010). On all fronts: EOKA and the Cyprus insurgency, 1955-1959 (Doctoral dissertation, Oxford University, UK). https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9fcd14f8-f60d-49b3-82b4-411e3370e890
  • Özmatyatli, İ. Ö., & Özkul, A. E. (2013). 20th century British colonialism in Cyprus through education. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 1-20.
  • Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. Pantheon Books.
  • Scarinzi, F. (2021). Force structure and counterinsurgency outcome: The case of the Cyprus emergency (1955-1959). Defence Studies, 21(2), 204-225. https://doi.org/10.1080/14702436.2021.1918988
  • Sonyel, S. R. (1995). İngiliz yönetiminde Kıbrıs Türklerinin varlık savaşımı (1878–1960). Belleten 59(224), 133-188. https://doi.org/10.37879/belleten.1995.133.
  • Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of culture (pp. 271–313). University of Illinois Press.
  • Stearns, P. N. (1993). Encyclopedia of social history. Routledge.
  • van Dijk, T. A. (2001). Critical discourse analysis. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen & H. E. Hamilton (Eds), The handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 352-371). Oxford: Blackwell.
  • Xydis, S. G. (1967). Cyprus: Conflict and conciliation, 1954–1958. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
  • Yorgancıoğlu, C. (2020). The nationalisms in Cyprus within international context (1954–1964): A critical approach. (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation). Near East University, Institute of Social Sciences, Nicosia.
  • Yorgancıoğlu, C., & Kıralp, Ş. (2019). Turco-British relations, Cold War and reshaping the Middle East: Egypt, Greece and Cyprus (1954-1958). Middle Eastern Studies, 55(6), 914-931. https://doi.org/10.1080/00263206.2019.1613646.

Cyprus in British Parliamentary Debates in 1955: Violence, Negotiation and Colonial Narrative

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 55 - 72
https://doi.org/10.33709/ictimaiyat.1724680

Abstract

This article analyses the Cyprus debates in the British parliament in 1955 using methods of discourse analysis and shows the contradictions of colonial legitimation strategies. After the armed resistance of the EOKA on 1 April 1955, concepts such as ‘terrorism’, ‘law and order’, ‘loyalty’, and ‘legitimate defense’ became the focus of the security-oriented discourse, while demands for constitutional reform were either accepted with reservations or rejected. Based on 97 parliamentary debates, in particular those of 5 May and 5 December 1955, the study shows how the tension between the two was resolved. Using the debate of 5 December 1955, the study shows how the tension between the security and reform discourses persisted throughout the year and how sovereignty was redefined through an ethical discourse based on themes such as ‘moral responsibility’, civilizational duty’, and ‘geopolitical necessity’. As a result, 1955 was regarded as a significant milestone in the post-imperialist process, both from the point of view of the discursive consolidation of colonial administration and from the point of view of the establishment of the underlying grounds for the tougher policies of 1956.

Ethical Statement

This research is based entirely on publicly available historical documents and does not involve human participants or personal data. Therefore, ethical approval was not required. All sources have been properly cited and acknowledged in accordance with academic standards.

References

  • UK, Hansard, 1950-1959, Sittings in 1950s (Parliamentary Debates). https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/sittings/1950s [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, 1954. Sittings in 1954 (Parliamentary Debates). https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/sittings/1954/index.html [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, 1955. Sittings in 1955 (Parliamentary Debates). https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/sittings/1955/index.html [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 05 December 1955 vol. 547, cc. 32-156, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1955/may/05/cyprus/index.html [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 05 May 1955 vol. 540, cc. 1910-71, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1955/may/05/cyprus/index.htm [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 09 March 1955 vol 538 cc. 436-74, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1955/mar/09/riots [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 13 July 1955 vol 543 cc. 1910-1, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1955/jul/13/cyprus-athens-radio-broadcasts [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 16 November 1955 vol 546 cc. 41-2W, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1955/nov/16/constitution [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HC Deb 28 November 1955 vol. 546 cc. 1932-5, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1955/nov/28/cyprus-situation/index.html [Electronic version].
  • UK, Hansard, HL Deb 06 April 1955 vol. 192, cc. 319-21, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1955/apr/06/cyprus-disturbances/index.html [Electronic version].
  • Anderson, D. M. (1993). Policing and communal conflict: The Cyprus emergency, 1954–60. The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 21(3), 177–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/03086539308582912
  • Clogg, R. (2021). A concise history of Greece. Cambridge University Press.
  • Dodd, C. (2010). The history and the politics of Cyprus. London: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230275287
  • Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and power (2nd ed.). London: Longman.
  • French, D. (2015). Fighting EOKA: The British counter-insurgency campaign on Cyprus, 1955-1959. Oxford University Press.
  • Gazioğlu, A. C. (1998). İngiliz yönetiminde Kıbrıs III (1951-1959): Enosise karşı taksim ve eşit egemenlik. Lefkoşa: Kıbrıs Araştırma ve Yayın Merkezi (CYREP).
  • Gürel, Ş. S. (1985). Kıbrıs tarihi, 1878-1960: Kolonyalizm, ulusçuluk, ve uluslararası politika. Kaynak Yayınları.
  • Ioannides, C. P. (2018). Cyprus under British Colonial Rule: Culture, Politics, and the Movement toward Union with Greece, 1878–1954. Lexington Books.
  • Karyos, A. (2021). The armed struggle against British colonial rule in Cyprus, 1955-1959: EOKA’s strategic mentality and tactics. MDD Publishing.
  • Kelling, G. H. (1990). Countdown to rebellion: British policy in Cyprus, 1939-1955. Praeger.
  • Ker-Lindsay, J. (2011). The Cyprus problem: What everyone needs to know. Oxford University Press.
  • Kitaeva, E., & Ozerova, O. (2019). Intertextuality in political discourse. In Ö. Çakırtas, Language, power, and ideology in political writing: Emerging research and opportunities (pp. 143-170). IGI Global.
  • Novo, A. (2010). On all fronts: EOKA and the Cyprus insurgency, 1955-1959 (Doctoral dissertation, Oxford University, UK). https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9fcd14f8-f60d-49b3-82b4-411e3370e890
  • Özmatyatli, İ. Ö., & Özkul, A. E. (2013). 20th century British colonialism in Cyprus through education. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 1-20.
  • Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. Pantheon Books.
  • Scarinzi, F. (2021). Force structure and counterinsurgency outcome: The case of the Cyprus emergency (1955-1959). Defence Studies, 21(2), 204-225. https://doi.org/10.1080/14702436.2021.1918988
  • Sonyel, S. R. (1995). İngiliz yönetiminde Kıbrıs Türklerinin varlık savaşımı (1878–1960). Belleten 59(224), 133-188. https://doi.org/10.37879/belleten.1995.133.
  • Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of culture (pp. 271–313). University of Illinois Press.
  • Stearns, P. N. (1993). Encyclopedia of social history. Routledge.
  • van Dijk, T. A. (2001). Critical discourse analysis. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen & H. E. Hamilton (Eds), The handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 352-371). Oxford: Blackwell.
  • Xydis, S. G. (1967). Cyprus: Conflict and conciliation, 1954–1958. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
  • Yorgancıoğlu, C. (2020). The nationalisms in Cyprus within international context (1954–1964): A critical approach. (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation). Near East University, Institute of Social Sciences, Nicosia.
  • Yorgancıoğlu, C., & Kıralp, Ş. (2019). Turco-British relations, Cold War and reshaping the Middle East: Egypt, Greece and Cyprus (1954-1958). Middle Eastern Studies, 55(6), 914-931. https://doi.org/10.1080/00263206.2019.1613646.
There are 33 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects International Politics, Middle East Studies, Late Modern Discoveries and Colonialism History, Late Modern History of Middle East
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Cemal Yorgancıoğlu 0000-0002-2885-7853

Early Pub Date November 26, 2025
Publication Date November 27, 2025
Submission Date June 22, 2025
Acceptance Date August 10, 2025
Published in Issue Year 2025 Volume: 9 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Yorgancıoğlu, C. (2025). Cyprus in British Parliamentary Debates in 1955: Violence, Negotiation and Colonial Narrative. İçtimaiyat, 9(2), 55-72. https://doi.org/10.33709/ictimaiyat.1724680

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