STATEHOOD STRUGGLE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF A PROTRACTED CONFLICT; POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE TURKISH CYPRIOT CASE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY NEYYİRE NİLGÜN ÖNER TANGÖR IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF AREA STUDIES APRIL 2021 Approval of the thesis: STATEHOOD STRUGGLE WITHIN the CONTEXT of a PROTRACTED CONFLICT; POLITICAL ECONOMY of the TURKISH CYPRIOT CASE submitted by NEYYİRE NİLGÜN ÖNER TANGÖR in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Area Studies, the Graduate School of Social Sciences of Middle East Technical University by, Prof. Dr. Yaşar KONDAKÇI Dean Graduate School of Social Sciences Assist. Prof. Dr. Derya GÖÇER Head of Department Department of Area Studies Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galip YALMAN Supervisor Department of Political Science and Public Administration Examining Committee Members: Prof. Dr. Yakup Atila ERALP (Head of the Examining Committee) Middle East Technical University Department of International Relations Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galip YALMAN (Supervisor) Middle East Technical University Department of Political Science and Public Administration Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar BEDİRHANOĞLU Middle East Technical University Department of International Relations Prof. Dr. Fuat KEYMAN Sabancı University Department of International Relations Assist. Prof. Dr. Umut BOZKURT East Mediterranean University Department of Political Science and International Relations PLAGIARISM 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: Neyyire Nilgün ÖNER TANGÖR Signature: iii ABSTRACT STATEHOOD STRUGGLE WITHIN the CONTEXT of a PROTRACTED CONFLICT; POLITICAL ECONOMY of the TURKISH CYPRIOT CASE ÖNER TANGÖR, Neyyire Nilgün Ph.D., The Department of Area Studies Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galip YALMAN April 2021, 414 pages The Cyprus Problem was predominantly studied as a protracted conflict of clashing nationalisms and the TRNC-Turkey relation was depicted as a “dependency relation” that developed between a core and a periphery. This thesis suggests an alternative reading for both issues and analyses their relationship from a critical political economy perspective based on a realist epistemology by using the “dialectical method of inquiry”. It considers the Cyprus problem not only as an intercommunal conflict but more pertinently as a statehood struggle that was shaped by, and also shaping in return, the uneven and combined development of capitalism (UCDC) on the island and by the contradictions of capitalism on a regional scale. TC statehood struggle is considered as a constellation of class struggle that was conditioned by cross-cutting and overlapping issues of ethnic cleavages and rising nationalisms and its closely linked to the GC statehood struggle hence they shall be analysed as complementary processes rather than competitive ones vis a vis UCDC on the island. The TC State is depicted as a capitalist social formation that is shaped by the changing relations of production, iv and the TC State-Turkey relationship is regarded as an “internal relation”, whose form and essence are constantly reproduced by hegemonic relations within the power bloc in the north, providing relative autonomy to the TC State vis a vis this bloc. The state and society in Cyprus are undergoing a neoliberal transformation in parallel to the rise of a new form of imperialism in the South Eastern Mediterranean after the 2000s that deepened the divide on the island across hydrocarbon politics. Keywords: Cyprus problem, statehood struggle, uneven and combined development, relative autonomy, internal relation. v ÖZ ÇATIŞMALI BİR SÜREÇTE DEVLET OLMA MÜCADELESİ; KIBRIS TÜRK TOPLUMUNUN SİYASAL İKTİSADİ ANALİZİ ÖNER TANGÖR, Neyyire Nilgün Doktora, Bölge Çalışmaları Bölümü Tez Danışmanı: Doç. Dr. Galip YALMAN April 2021, 414 pages Kıbrıs Sorunu literatürde ağırlıklı olarak, karşıt milliyetçiliklerin uzun süreli çatışması olarak incelenmiş ve KKTC-Türkiye ilişkisi bu sorun çerçevesinde “merkez ve çevre” arasında gelişen bir "bağımlılık ilişkisi" olarak tasvir edilmiştir. Bu tez, her iki mesele için de alternatif bir okuma önermekte ve bu meselelerin birbiriyle ilişkilerini “diyalektik sorgulama yöntemi” kullanarak gerçekçi bir epistemolojiye dayanan eleştirel bir politik ekonomi perspektifinden analiz etmektedir. Bu bağlamda Kıbrıs sorunu, yalnızca toplumlararası bir çatışma olarak değil, kapitalizmin eşitsiz ve bileşik gelişimi (KEBG) altında şekillenen -aynı zamanda onu şekillendiren- ve kapitalizmin bölgesel ölçekte ortaya çıkan çelişkileriyle koşullanan bir devlet olma mücadelesi olarak değerlendirmektedir. Kıbrıslı Türklerin devlet olma mücadelesi, etnik bölünmelerin ve yükselen milliyetçiliklerin kesişen ve örtüşen sorunları tarafından koşullandırılan sınıf mücadelerinin birleşik kümesi olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Bu mücadele adada gene KEGB altında şekillenen Kıbrıslı Rumların devlet olma mücadelesiyle yakından bağlantılı olduğundan, iki mücadele yalnızca birbirleriyle vi rakip süreçler olarak değil aynı zamanda birbirlerini tamamlayan süreçler olarak analiz edilmiştir. KT Devleti, değişen üretim ilişkileriyle şekillenen kapitalist bir toplumsal oluşum olarak tasvir edilmekte ve KT Devleti-Türkiye ilişkisi, biçimi ve özü ağırlıklı olarak iktidar bloğu içindeki hegemonik ilişkilerle sürekli yeniden üretilen bir "iç ilişki" olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Bu çerçevede şekillenen toplumsal oluşum KT Devletine zamanla Türkiye’nin de 1974’den sonra içerisinde hegemon bir güç haline geldiği kuzeydeki güç bloğu karşısında görece özerk bir konum sağlar. 2000'li yıllarla beraber Güneydoğu Akdeniz'de yeni bir emperyalizmin yükselişine paralel olarak Kıbrıs'ta devlet ve toplum neoliberal bir dönüşüm geçirmekte ve bu süreçte öne çıkan hidrokarbon politikaları sonucunda adadaki bölünme giderek derinleşmektedir. Keywords: Kıbrıs sorunu, devlet olma mücadelesi, eşitsiz ve bileşik gelişme, göreli özerk, iç ilişki. vii DEDICATION To my dear Hayri Uzay, viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Since I started writing this thesis in 2014 so many things changed in my life, in Turkey well as in the world. I lost my beloved father Hayri Öner after a long struggle with his illness, who was very excited to see me as a Ph.D., but was not able to witness that I have finally made it. He would always be a role model with his deep intellect and compassion. We had our son Hayri Uzay, my little precious companion who kept me awake in long sleepless nights but gave me the power and inspiration to do my best even in the gloomiest days. My beloved mother Nuriye Öner, who is the strongest character I knew in my life finally got tired and surrendered her good and sad memories to time. I lost my dear auntie Zekiye Öner, the wise women I adored as a child. We were devastated by Uzay’s grandfather Teoman Tangör’s sudden loss, a person full of life and affection. The year that I planned to finish my Ph.D., Covid-19 pandemic broke out and it not only changed the way we live but also our future plans. While I was writing on “change” in Cyprus, I observed my life going under a deep transformation, during which a number of people played key roles to help me through both processes with ease. I shall start by thanking my professors Galip L. Yalman and Y. Atila Eralp. Besides being proud to have their exceptional academic support, I shall thank them for offering me their earnest friendships. They made invaluable contributions not only to the making of this thesis but also to my intellectual development and for introducing Cyprus to me, free of cliches and stereotypes. First of all, I would confer my thanks to my advisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galip L. Yalman, who became one of the central figures and a role model in my life for twenty years as for today, helping me to broaden my academic perspective by his critical thinking and humble wisdom. I am more than thankful to him for guiding each step on the way, and for his trust in me even after reading the preliminary drafts of the thesis that were, to put it kindly, not quite exciting. He gave me the freedom, the courage as well as all the support to “put things differently” and the chance to refine my ideas during our long discussions. I shall also extend my thanks to Nurdan Yalman for her warm friendship, support and sharing my ix enthusiasm. I would express my deepest gratitude to Prof. Dr. Y. Atila Eralp for his endless support and invaluable contributions to this thesis, acting as a co-advisor as well as an exceptional mentor and a powerful critique in my life. He has been a profound academic role model who helped me to grasp the essence of even the most complex issue with great simplicity but also depth. I am more than thankful to him for his careful scrutiny, vital deliberations and his invaluable friendship in each phase of the thesis. I would also like to thank Nilgün Arısan Eralp for her heartfelt support and friendship. I shall thank Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar Bedirhanoğlu for her profound support in reading and re-reading the thesis as a member of the thesis monitoring committee and for her critical questions as well as suggestions that inspired me to reassess my theoretical as well as my thematic framework. I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Fuat Keyman for his sincere support and meticulous attention to the details of the thesis and his constructive critiques which were key for preparing the final version. I shall thank Assist. Prof. Dr. Umut Bozkurt for her friendship and support during and after the field work and her patience for reading yet another piece on Cyprus. Her insight and comments helped me to broaden my perspective on the issue. I would like to extend my thanks to my METU CES (Center for European Studies) family as well, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Başak Alpan, Ph.D. Candidate Nurdan Selay Bedir, Assist. Prof. Dr. Asuman Göksel, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Başak Kale, Assoc.