On divisionism and cypriotism: the civic languages of the Cyprus Problem

This article analyses the two main vernacular poles through which the Greek-Cypriot population engages with statehood, and thus the Cyprus Problem. Using ethnography, I dissect two versions of “nationalist” cultural ethos, which, while pertinent to the post-colonial condition generally, are largely unknown outside Cyprus. These concern on the one hand the idea of divisionism and on the other that of cypriotism. I specifically show how the bicommunal nature of the state in Cyprus finds emic continuity among certain Greek-Cypriots that adhere to a non-nation-bound loyalty glossed as cypriotism, while I illustrate how dividing techniques of conventional nationalist rhetoric operate among other Greek-Cypriots. I also briefly discuss how such vernacular experiences of nationhood and statehood reverberate among Turkish-Cypriots and Turks (the state’s “Others”) and consider the ways this affects the Republic. The article therefore contributes to understanding the political vernacular in the post-colonial and post-conflict context of Cyprus, and highlights from below the local “languages” pertaining to the Cyprus Problem.