From Colonialism to Neo-colonialism: The British Politics of Nationalist Violence in Cyprus
| dc.contributor.author | Jordan, Abigail Marie | en |
| dc.contributor.committeechair | Stivachtis, Ioannis | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Poets, Desiree | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Gill, Bikrum Singh | en |
| dc.contributor.department | Political Science | en |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-05-13T08:01:16Z | en |
| dc.date.available | 2025-05-13T08:01:16Z | en |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-05-12 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | One of the most complex and perilous geopolitical conflicts in the contemporary world is the Cyprus Problem. This conflict is directly tied to the impact of former colonial powers on newly independent postcolonial states. This thesis analyzes the relationship between nationalist violence, British colonial and neo-colonial policies, and Cyprus' geostrategic location within the imperialist world system. By contextualizing the Cyprus Conflict into the theories of decolonization and neo-colonialism, this research examines how Cyprus' geostrategic location motivated colonial powers to gain and maintain influence within this region. This case study of the Cyprus Conflict utilizes the process-tracing of archives, primary documents, and scholarly articles to emphasize the British colonial power as the catalyst and driver for the nationalist violence in Cyprus. | en |
| dc.description.abstractgeneral | This thesis follows a single case study of British neo-colonialism in Cyprus. The island of Cyprus is found in the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa. Cyprus has experienced a long history of conquest and colonization, most notably by the Ottoman Empire and then Great Britain, due to its geostrategic location of the island in relation to Middle Eastern affairs. During British colonial rule in Cyprus, the ethnic divisions between Greek and Turkish Cypriots became embedded in every facet of Cypriot life and governance. A violent ethnic conflict occurred in 1974 that created a fractured Cyprus population, and there have been no successful strides in finding a solution to the conflict. This case study of the Cyprus Conflict utilizes the process-tracing of archives and other primary sources, as well as scholarly articles, to illustrate that the relationship between the nationalist violence in Cyprus and Cyprus' geostrategic location is dependent on British neo-colonialism in Cyprus. By using the theories of decolonization and neo-colonialism, this thesis approaches the rise in nationalism in Cyprus as an anti-colonial movement that failed to dismantle all ties to Great Britain because the British government never intended to lose influence and power over Cyprus, even when granting the island independence in 1960. The contributions of this study reframe how the Cyprus Problem is viewed and theorized in international politics by shifting the narrative of nationalist violence to focus on British motivations to keep control over the island of Cyprus due to its geostrategic location in the Mediterranean Sea. | en |
| dc.description.degree | Master of Arts | en |
| dc.format.medium | ETD | en |
| dc.identifier.other | vt_gsexam:43436 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10919/132194 | en |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | Virginia Tech | en |
| dc.rights | In Copyright | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | en |
| dc.subject | Cyprus | en |
| dc.subject | British Colonialism | en |
| dc.subject | Decolonization | en |
| dc.subject | Neo-colonialism | en |
| dc.subject | Postcolonial Studies | en |
| dc.subject | Nationalism | en |
| dc.title | From Colonialism to Neo-colonialism: The British Politics of Nationalist Violence in Cyprus | en |
| dc.type | Thesis | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Political Science | en |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | en |
| thesis.degree.level | masters | en |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Arts | en |