Making 'Cypriotness': Exclusion, Belonging and Legacies of Violence for Young Turkish Cypriot Men

Cyprus is an island caught in a ceasefire, divided ethnically, politically and socially since 1974. In daily life, the two halves function as separate entities but internationally, the Turkish-speaking north is considered to an occupied region of the Republic of Cyprus. As an unrecognised state, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus ('TRNC') exists outside of international legal, economic and political systems, leaving its youth with "no 'identity' that can be properly translated into accepted terms of international practice" (Navaro-Yashin 2003: 114). The proposed project will investigate the first generation of Turkish Cypriots without lived experience of the war, focusing on local ideas of masculinity, ethnicity, and belonging. The lack of recognised nationhood coincides with international demonisation, historical violence, economic embargoes, and geographic isolation to create a context of socio-political entrapment for youth. Turkish Cypriot experiences of marginalisation warrant particular attention due to the entrenchment of division and precarity in this post-conflict landscape.
The research will build on a period of extended ethnographic fieldwork in two cities in the TRNC, Lefkosa and Girne, as well as short visits to UK universities, to identify the ways in which ideas about violence shape or permeate young people's identities, subjectivities and engagements with institutions. By focusing on young men rather than both men and women, I hope to explore how the legacies of violence and lack of recognised statehood inform masculinities in a post-conflict society, and what this means for current and future violence.
This project aims to give both Turkish and Greek Cypriots an opportunity to start empathising with their 'Other', working towards a gradual reconceptualization of each other as neighbours rather than enemies and so making the ongoing reunification talks more likely to reach a conclusion that satisfies both communities.