Europeanization and the Turkish–Cypriot political parties: how Europe matters

The paper seeks to investigate the European Union (EU) impact on the Turkish–Cypriot (TC) political parties via (a) the TC prospects for EU integration as part of a united Cyprus and (b) the recently commenced Brussels–northern Nicosia interaction. In doing so, the paper engages with the discussion on “Europeanization” and argues that the EU integration has affected TC party competition and its outcome. This process of “Europeanization” is importantly mediated by three specificities of the TC community as a case of contested state: (a) the centrality of the Cyprus problem in the public debate, (b) the limited diplomatic recognition of the self-proclaimed TC administration and (c) the TC international isolation.