(Imposed) Division of Cyprus: Social and Political Exclusion through Passports

Authors: Çiçek, de Haan, Dodge, Gökdemir, Novák & Leenaars

Abstract:

This paper positions itself as a state-of-the art paper by illustrating the past and present the division of the island of Cyprus and its exclusionary effects on economic, social, cultural, and political life on the island. We provide a brief conceptualization of passports and citizenship and their ties to nations and states, followed by the history of Cyprus that captures the governance of the island by different entities. In our analysis, we aim to explore the origins of the divide of the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities that were once united in a single state. We use the framework of Turner (1990) and research the top-down division on the island being imposed by different (trans)national actors and the manifestations of these within the communities and physical spaces. We also explore the differences in attitudes within the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities from the bottom-up. Throughout our analysis, we use specific literal and symbolic aspects of passports that characterize the exclusion faced in both the Republic of Cyprus (ROC) and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Çiçek, de Haan, Dodge, Gökdemir, Novák & Leenaars_2026_Imposed Division in Cyprus.pdf

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