The state of exception has been discussed and widely analyzed in academic research, as a space where the dominant force develops its practices through the suspension of the norm. A very large part of research on this topic highlights the ways in which a space can be excluded, surrounded, isolated or converted into a state of exception, as a result of the action of the dominant power. However, the violence or the combination of forms of violence with consent constituting a state of exception produces simultaneously new, unpredictable dynamics. Building on the above theoretical framework, this article seeks to consider the production of 'unforeseen dynamics' which appear against the exceptional spaces. In this article, the epicentre is the Turkish Cypriot community and its relations with Turkey during the 1974-1981 period. It attempts to identify the way in which a colonial type strategy enables exceptional means to transform a space of war into a normal space. At the same time, the article attempts to define the oppositional dynamics generated in the Turkish Cypriot community against the normalization of Cyprus' state of exception.

This paper argues that, despite some promising signs in the early 2000s that the ‘Cypriot states of exception’ might be superseded with a rights-based normality via the resolution of the Cyprus Problem together with accession to the EU, we instead have witnessed a proliferation of regimes of exception and derogation of rights. After discussing the diminishing potential for solving the Cyprus Problem and the faltering EU integration process as a rights-based democratic space, the paper focuses on developments within the Republic of Cyprus. It demonstrates that, despite some welcome developments in the institutional frame as a result of acceding to the EU as well as implementing the Charter of Fundamental Rights, there are two tiers of problems the Republic of Cyprus faces. It is plagued by a triple crisis undermining fundamental rights in the Union and its members: securitisation, particularly after 9/11 and recent terrorist attacks; austerity measures following the financial crisis;...

The paper provides information about the factors that endanger the existence of the Turkish Cypriot community and its identity due to the continuous occupation of the northern part of Cyprus by the Turkish army. The main emphasis is on the changes that have been taking place since 1974. It starts with the demographic changes caused by the constant colonization and transfer of Turkish settlers and then deals with the consequent formation of settlers' organizations and the increasing religious propaganda that rose especially after the AKP's rise to power. In addition to this massive colonization process, we also observe the increase of the criminality rates, drug abuse and sex tourism.

The importance of the Eastern Mediterranean for the Turkish state is diachronic. In recent years, however, a renewed interest of Ankara is being recorded as a result of the developments in the energy sphere. This is expressed through various forms of interventionist policy of Turkey in the area. This article examines the reshaping of Turkey's geopolitical dogma and its connection with Turkish perception of the Eastern Mediterranean. It examines the impact of the failed coup attempt in 2016 on the ruling power bloc and its reflections in the Turkish geopolitical doctrine. In this framework the article explores the reinstatement of the need for "survival of the state" (devletin bekası) as a result of the reshaping of the ruling coalition and the legitimisation of the attempt to strengthen the authority of the state. At the same time, the ideological construction of the Eastern Mediterranean is important, as it can reveal the process of construction of security issues or the instrumentalisation of real threats through which geopolitical orientation is reshaped and specific policies are implemented. This study consequently reviews the identification of the Eastern Mediterranean with a wider "hostile region" and analyses the functioning of the "blue homeland" concept as a legitimising axis of Turkish politics. The concept of "blue homeland" is examined in conjunction with internal developments in Turkey and especially the change of balance in the power bloc. Finally, the last part of the article analyses the ideological legitimisation of the "blue homeland" concept in Turkey's strategy for the Eastern Mediterranean. Through these dynamics, the change in Ankara's perception of the Turkish Cypriot community and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is also identified.

In the months prior to the independence of the Republic of Cyprus, the future status and political rights of the small ethnic and religious groups on the island was decided ´This chapter tries to reconstruct the struggle of the Armenians, Maronites, Latins and British residents for the most important rights a minority needs to possess: the right to self-identification i.e. the right to express their distinct identity; the right to preserve their distinct identity by practising their culture, language and religion; the right to public participation in public affairs and participate in decision-making in particular on topics that relate to their rights and finally the right to equality before the law and the prohibition of discrimination. The main focus in this chapter will be on the right to public participation as citizens and as a community. The historical account of this struggle is mainly based on documents retrieved from the British archives. Key Words: Armenians, Maronites, Latins, British Residents, Minority Rights, Transitional Period

Cyprus, during the period between the two world wars witnessed a political struggle between two groups within the Turkish Cypriot community: the traditionalists and the reformists. When the British took over the administration of the island in 1878, the existing Ottoman establishment aligned itself with the new rulers, in order to consolidate the power structure that served its interests. The position of the traditional Ottoman establishment in Cyprus came to be challenged with the emergence of a group of intellectuals who were inspired by Kemalism and the principles and policies of the Republic of Turkey. Calling themselves ‘halkçılar’, this reformist group criticized the traditionalists, particularly for guarding the interests of the British and themselves, rather than that of the Turkish Cypriot community. The British and the traditionalists tried to contain this political development, but the popular support for the halkçılar continued to grow. At one point the British realized that they could no longer continue their policy of supporting the traditionalists and so they undertook steps to acknowledge and win the sympathies of the reformists. Academic research has generally focused on the Greek Cypriot community and its relations with the British or the Turkish Cypriots. This paper will attempt to discuss the split within the Turkish Cypriot community between the world wars and the British reaction to it, and bring to light and analyze this hitherto unexamined area of Cyprus studies.

Scholarly research in northern Cyprus and Turkey, which treats the question of Cyprus from the perspective of the domestic dynamics of the Turkish-Cypriot society, is rather sparse. For the most part, the focal point of theoretical narratives regarding Cyprus is that the problem belongs to the realm of international relations, where the Turkish-Cypriots feature just as a unitary actor. There are a number of authors who highlight this literary deficiency. For instance, Hasgüler (2007, pp. 1–3) claims that Cyprus has from the outset been treated as a national question alone in both Turkey and Greece, with the Cypriots as the inept authors of their own history. Similarly, Egemen (2006, pp. 37–39) notes that popular and scholarly literature on the Turkish-Cypriots mostly concentrates on the question of Cyprus, at the expense of domestic politics and economics, ideology, and, particularly, power struggles for leadership.