The Cyprus Question: Continuity, Transformation and Tendencies
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THE CYPRUS QUESTION: CONTINUITY, TRANSFORMATION AND TENDENCIES A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY MURAT TÜZÜNKAN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SEPTEMBER 2007 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Dr. Meliha B. Altunışık Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _____________________ Prof. Dr. Mustafa Türkeş Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Mustafa Türkeş _ (METU,IR) Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Bağcı (METU, IR) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kibaroğlu (BİLKENT, IR) Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlhan Uzgel (AU, FPS/IR) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşegül Kibaroğlu (METU/IR) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name: Signature : iii ABSTRACT THE CYPRUS QUESTION: CONTINUITY, TRANSFORMATION AND TENDENCIES Tüzünkan, Murat Ph.D., Department of International Relations Supervisor : Prof. Dr. Mustafa Türkeş September 2007, 442 pages This study has three main objectives. First, it provides a theoretical framework that challenges the mainstream approaches to allow for a new reading of the Cyprus Question. Second, it identifies continuities, transformations and tendencies within different historical periods by analyzing the positions of the various actors and the international conjecture in order to offer a correct reading of all previous settlement proposals and indicate the basis on which perceptions and policies were constructed and why the latter failed repeatedly to resolve the Cyprus issue. Continuities are those factors that created the continuum of the crisis and were concretely reflected in the successive failures of different peace talks, plans and initiatives; examining these means analyzing the hegemonic projects of the various actors involved. Examining transformations means looking specifically at how and why these hegemonic projects changed. Examining tendencies means pointing out the latest developments such as accumulated sovereignty, shared sovereignty as protectorate, Taiwan Model, return to 1960, integration through class strategy and independent TRNC and exploring the logical consequences of developments. Third, this study focuses on the European Union’s hegemonic projects related to iv Cyprus – how they emerged, the relationship between these projects and the domestic and international political conjectures, their aspects of continuity and reasons for transformation and their successes and failures. This thesis argues that all the previous plans and initiatives by international and local actors, latest being the EU-initiated Annan Plan, led not only to failure, but transformed the Cyprus Question from one paradigm to another. Keywords: Cyprus Question, Hegemonic Projects, Annan Plan, Transformations, Tendencies v ÖZ KIBRIS SORUNU: DEVAMLILIK, DÖNÜŞÜM VE EĞİLİMLER Tüzünkan, Murat Doktora, Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi : Prof. Dr. Mustafa Türkeş Eylül 2007, 442 sayfa Bu tezin üç ana amacı vardır. Tez öncelikle, temel teorik yaklaşımları sorgulayarak, Kıbrıs sorununda yeni bir analize imkan sağlayan bir teorik çerçeve çizmeyi hedeflemektedir. İkinci olarak tez, tarihsel perspektif içerisinde aktörlerin pozisyonlarını ve uluslararası konjonktürü analiz ederek, Kıbrıs sorunununda ortaya atılan çözüm önerilerinin hangi algılamalar ve politikalar üzerine inşa edildiğini ve bunların sürekli olarak Kıbrıs sorununu çözmede neden başarısız olduğunu analiz ederek, Kıbrıs sorunundaki devamlılık, dönüşüm ve eğilimleri tanımlamayı hedeflemektedir. Devamlılık, krizlerin sürekliliğini sağlayan ve farklı barış görüşmelerinin, barış önerilerinin ve barış girişimlerinin sürekli olarak başarısız olmasını sağlayan faktör olarak değerlendirilmekte, bu faktörlerin analiz edilerek Kıbrıs sorununa dahil olan aktörlerin hegemonya projelerinin analiz edilmesinde kullanılmaktadır. Dönüşüm ise hegemonya projelerinin neden ve nasıl değiştiğine işaret etmektedir. Kıbrıs sorununda ortaya çıkan iki ayrı egemenlik birikimi, manda yönetimini öngören egemenlik paylaşımı, Tayvan modeli, 1960 anayasal düzenine geri dönüş, sınıfsal düzen üzerinden bütünleşme ve KKTC’nin bağımsızlığı gibi eğilimler incelenerek, Kıbrıs sorunundaki gelişmelerin mantıksal vi çıkarsamaları ortaya koyulmaktadır. Üçüncü olarak tez, Kıbrıs sorunu ile ilgili AB'nin oluşturduğu hegemonya projesi üzerinde odaklanarak, AB hegemonya projesinin nasıl ortaya çıktığını, diğer hegemonya projeleri, yerel ve uluslararası politik konjonktür ile olan ilişkisini, devamlılığını sağlayan noktalarla, dönüşümüne neden olan faktörlerle, AB hegemonya projesinin başarıları ve başarısızlıkları analiz edilecektir. Bu tezin temel argümanı şudur; şu ana kadar uluslararası ve yerel aktörler tarafından ortaya atılan çözüm önerileri, en son olarak da AB tarafından ortaya atılan Annan planı, sadece başarısızlığa sebep olmamakta, Kıbrıs sorununun bir paradigmadan diğer bir paradigmaya dönüşmesine neden olmaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Kıbrıs Sorunu, Hegemonya Projesi, Annan Planı, Dönüşümler, Eğilimler vii To my loves, Ayşe and Nehir and To my parents viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Dr. Mustafa Türkeş, who has been a constant source of inspiration and intellectual challenge. A PhD is truly a marathon event, and without the aid and support of Prof. Dr. Türkeş, I would not have been able to complete this journey. His immense expertise, boundless understanding, unsurpassed patience and extraordinary self- sacrificing attitude added considerably to my thesis. Even as he was about to undergo a serious medical operation, his thoughts were focused on this student. I hope only that one day I might become even half the instructor that Prof. Dr. Türkeş has shown himself to be, so that I might motivate and guide my students as he has done so brilliantly for me. Without him, this thesis would simply not have been possible. Second, I owe a special debt of gratitude to Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Bağcı. Prof. Dr. Bağcı provided me with infinite encouragement and endless support, for which I wish to express my honest and heartfelt appreciation. Third, I would like to offer special thanks to Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlhan Uzgel for his kind assistance. Dr. Uzgel’s intellectual comments on my thesis and his help and friendship during my time in Ankara will be impossible to forget. My thanks also go to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kibaroğlu and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşegül Kibaroğlu for their patience and comments. I am heavily indebted to the Middle East Technical University, Department of International Relations and Center for European Studies, not only for shaping my academic development through the invaluable knowledge they provided, but for the many unique opportunities they offered me. Among these, two need to be singled out here: field research in United Kingdom with BAP Project No 07.07.03.00.05, entitled “Transormation of the Cyprus Question” in 2007, and field research in Brussels on a Center of European Studies scholarship in June 2007. Acknowledgements and thanks also go to former TRNC President Rauf Denktaş; former “Republic of Cyprus” President George Vassilou; Lord David ix Hannay, former UK special representative to Cyprus; former Turkish Foreign Minister İlter Türkmen Lord Val Corbet; Conservative Party MP Roger Gale; Labor Party MP Andy Love; Dr. James Ker Lindsay, research fellow at Kingston University; Prof. Dr. Thomas Diez, chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Birmingham; Andrew Rasbash, head of the EU’s Turkish Cypriot Task Force; Georg Ziegler, deputy head of the EU’s Turkish Cypriot Task Force; former TRNC Foreign Minister Kenan Atakol; Ergün Olgun, former undersecretary to the president of the TRNC; İsmail Bozkurt, former president of the Turkish Communal Chamber and former president of the Communal Liberation Party; and Hüseyin Celal, founder of the Republican Turkish Party. Their assistance and personal interviews contributed extensively to the development of this thesis. Special thanks go to Mary Southcott, coordinator of the Friends of Cyprus, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Sözen, head of the Cyprus Policy Center at Eastern Mediterranean University. By providing me with important contacts, they made it possible for me to conduct invaluable interviews with policymakers and opinion leaders in the United Kingdom, Turkey, Brussels and the TRNC. I am also indebted to Dr. Niyazi Kızılyürek, for arranging a meeting with George Vassiliou. I would also like to express my thanks here to Mete Boyacı, president of the Board of Trustees of Cyprus International University, whose understanding and tolerance were exhibited clearly in his allowing me the opportunity to stay in Turkey on an extended leave. Special thanks go to Betil Gürün, IRC Specialist at the American Embassy in Ankara, for her support and advice during my research there. Special thanks also go to my dear colleagues, Dr. Sait Akşit, Assist. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Hasgüler, Dr. Nur Köprülü, Dr.