Cyprus Blog Post 1
Cyprus’ National Identity and the Turkish Cypriot Other
Definitions and Key Terms
National identity is subjective and constantly evolving, every country is different. Cyprus’ national identity is different depending on who you ask, a Greek Cypriot, a Turkish Cypriot, or an outsider. The Greek Cypriots are the majority of Cyprus’ population and view the Turkish Cypriots as the “other”. Before getting into aspects of Greek Cypriot national identity and what makes the Turkish Cypriots the “other” a definition of a nation, national identity, and “other” need to be established. Anna Triandafyllidou (1998) uses the definition of a nation from Anthony Smith (1991) “a nation is a ‘named human population sharing a historic territory, common myths and historical memories, a mass, public culture, a common economy and common legal rights and duties for all members’” (as cited in Triandafyllidou, 1998, p. 595) combined with the idea that nation had to have a shared “sense of belonging” (Connor, 1978, as cited in Triandafyllidou, 1998, p.595). National identity is a belief system based on the idea of a nation, “National identity is the primary form of identity that creates coherence and a sense of belonging by offering people authenticity, historical continuity and rootedness in a common territory” (Dieckhoff & Gutierrez, 2001). The concept of the other is tied to the idea of national identity as “the quest for authenticity of the nation self is inseparable from the conception of the others” (Triandafyllidou, 1998, p. 596). A nation is most defined when it has someone to contrast itself with.
Aspects of Greek Cyprus’ National Identity
Cyprus has a long, complicated history spanning from BCE to the current day, Cyprus’ settlers have had Greek ethnicity and language since at least the 1st millennium BCE (“History of Cyprus”, n.d.). This historical tie to Hellenic culture and descent is a key part of the national identity of the Republic of Cyprus. Cyprus relies heavily on pieces of Hellenic identity to define its national identity. The main aspects of Cyprus’ national identity are based on its history, language, and religion. The Greeks pride themselves on being descendants of historical figures such as Alexander the Great, Plato, and Sophocles (Stavrinides, 1999), this connection is important to those of Greek ethnicity and descent because it connects them to the Enlightenment and gives them a basis on which to fight off their Eastern European influence and control to join the West (Moisi & Zachariades, 2021). Traditionally Hellenic lands have been under the control of other empire or countries throughout history, mainly the Ottoman Empire and then Türkiye from 1453 when Constantinople and surrounding land was taken from the Byzantines by the Ottomans (Stavrinides, 1999). Greeks fought to gain back their independence from the Ottomans multiple times throughout the centuries and have managed to reunite most of the Hellenic land however there is still territory that has not been returned to Greece despite efforts to reclaim the land. Cyprus, an example of this, has a majority ethnically Greek population. Many Cypriots have expressed wishes to be reunited with Greece over the years but have been unsuccessful in any attempts to do so. The Hellenic history and ties to Greece are major aspects of the national identity of Cyprus.
Another key aspect is religion, 89.9% of Cyprus’ citizens are Orthodox Christian (“Cyprus”, 2023). The church has been with Cyprus throughout all its different rulers from the Byzantines to the Ottomans and the British. It is something that has remained a constant for the people of Cyprus despite many other changes. During British rule, it was encouraged by the government. Religion is a way for the isolated Cypriots to connect back to their Greek culture, “to be a Greek Orthodox means to be the same as all the other Greeks living inside or outside the Greek state” (Stavrinides, 1999, p. 10). The religious aspect of Cyprus’ national identity ties back to history as Orthodox Christianity is seen as important because of the historical importance of the Byzantine Empire and its role in establishing the “modern Greek identity” (Moisi & Zachariades, 2021).
The final aspect that Cyprus uses to create its national identity is the Greek language. Greek is spoken by 80.9% of people, this is despite having two official languages and multiple others spoken by the population (“Cyprus”, 2023). The Greek language tied Cypriots to their ancestors and allowed them to differentiate themselves from Turkish Cypriots at the same time. “the study of the ancient Greek language and literature, and the history of the nation … formed the content of Greek education; and this, in turn, helped to create a more unified national consciousness.” (Stavrindies, 1999, p.7). The Republic of Cyprus, while being its own country draws heavily on Greek customs and traditions to create its national identity, it defines itself through the language, history, and religion shared between Greece and Cyprus.
The “Other” in Cyprus: Turkish Cypriots
One of the main ways that many countries differentiate themselves is by creating an “other”, they point out the differences and aspects that separate the two different either internal or external nations from the image that the nation is presenting to the public. The situation between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots does not fit the model put forth by Triandafyllidou (1998), she proposes an external or internal other, and while the Turkish Cypriots are officially an internal minority other they function as an external other, specifically fulfilling the role of a rival nation. The main point that the Republic of Cyprus points to as the differentiating factor between the two groups is their ethnicity; the history and politics that come with two different ethnicities. According to Triandafyllidou (1998) an external significant other who fills the role of a rival nation does two things, creates a rivalry of land and territory and emphasizes specific cultural ideas of the ingroup. Despite the Turkish Cypriots being an internal nation, they do both. They challenge the land and territory that officially belongs to the Republic of Cyprus by taking over northern parts of the island and declaring itself as an independent state, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The TRNC is not recognized as an official nation-state, therefore, is technically an internal other despite acting as an external other. Turkish Cypriots bring an emphasis on Greek Cypriot culture as large parts of their culture is based on being historical rivals, “the modern Greek ‘Self’ cannot be conceived without understanding that Turkey is the perennial enemy” (Moisi & Zacharides, 2021). Cyprus became an independent republic in 1960 and set up the government so the Greek and Turkish populations would get a “fair” amount of representation but despite having a system set up to distribute the power proportionally the two sides could not work together to find a way for the government to work side by side and fulfill the wishes of the people. This divide led to the separation of Turkish and Greek Cypriots first unofficially within the cities and then, after an attempt by the Greeks to reclaim the presidency, with the TRNC being established because of the ensuing conflict. The two groups have not been able to reconcile their differences as they do not see each other as belonging to the same nation.
“Traditionally at least, the 80 per cent of the Cypriots have been very conscious of their Greek language, Greek
culture and history, and Greek Orthodox religion, and these things make them not Cypriots who just happened
to have had Greek origins, but Greeks living in Cyprus, and as such members of the larger Greek nation.
Analogously, the 18 per cent have thought of themselves as Turks living in Cyprus, and members of the larger
Turkish nation.” (Stravinides, 1999, p. 5)
Due to the ethnic history between Greeks and Turks Cyprus has been split in two with the Turkish Cypriots being the “other” for citizens of the Greek Cypriot population of the Republic of Cyprus.
References
Cyprus. (2023, January 18). The World Factbook. Retrieved January 28, 2023 from https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cyprus/
Cyprus.(n.d.). Eurovision.tv. Retrieved January 28, 2023 from https://eurovision.tv/country/cyprus
Dieckhoff, A., & Gutierrez, N. (2001). Modern roots: Studies of national identity. Ashgate.
History of Cyprus. (n.d.). Britannica. Retrieved January 18, 2023 from https://www.britannica.com/place/Cyprus/History
Moisi, E., & Zachariades, A. (2021). Performing identity: The case of the (Greek) Cypriot national guard. Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, 21(1), 30-32. https://doi.org/10.1111/sena.12341
Şahin, S. (2011). Open borders, closed minds: The discursive construction of national identity in North Cyprus. Media, Culture & Society, 33(4), 583-597. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443711398694
Stavrinides, Z. (1999). The Cyprus conflict: national identity and statehood (2nd ed.) (pp.1-15). Z. Stavrinies.
Triandafylliou, A. (1998). National identity and the “Other”. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 21(4), 595-596. https://doi.org/10.1080/014198798329784
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