Eurasian Gambles Over Cyprus' European Prospects

Abstract

Eurasian Gambles Over Cyprus' European Prospects

Abstract

A plethora of strategic analysts and historians, vvith or vvithout expertise on the Cyprus issue, have recognised the crucial role of intemational factors on the Cypriot domestic political stage. Their rationale vvas chiefly based on the geo-political location of the island in the Eastern Mediterranean, overlooking the Middle East and the Suez Canal. In modern history, if Cyprus came to be under the grip of the dominant povver in the Eastern Mediterranean, this vvas mainly so because it vvas seen as a launching pad tovvards the domination of oil and gas producing regions. Regrettably though, the recognition of the fact that the Cyprus issue remains perhaps the most intractable politico-strategic affair in intemational relations today, it has not led contemporary students of the issue to seriously advance their analyses beyond a mere acknovvledgement of this fact. Admittedly, there is a lack of published material focusing on the intemational dynamics and strategic aspects of Cyprus today vıs-a-vıs its bid to join the EU. This paper thus plan to locate Cyprus in the global context of the US and EU policies in Eurasia and in the regional context of the greater Middle East, focusing mainly on the post-Cold War period. The requirement is to decipher the parameters and the linkages of the balance of povver in the Eurasian region, and in its Near Eastern sub-region, to vvhich Cyprus belongs.

Keywords

• Turkey
• Cyprus
• European Union
• Geopolitics
• Eurasia
• TurkishGreek Relations
• EU-Cyprus Relations.