De-Securitizing Identity: Narrative (In)Consistency in Periods of Transition

Authors: Katerina Antoniou

Abstract:

When examining conflicts around the world, it is evident that the majority of intractable conflicts are steeped in identity. Identity seems to be not only a causal variable for conflict, but also a catalytic parameter for the process of reconciliation that follows ceasefire. This paper focuses on the process of identity securitization that occurs between rival groups of heterogeneous collective identities – ethnic, national or religious – as well as on the relationship between identity securitization and the ability of the groups involved to reconcile. Are securitized identities obstacles to the process of reconciliation, able to hinder any prospects of peace? If the level to which an identity is securitized is catalytic to a conflict’s discourse and settlement, then which factors act as indicators of identity de-securitization? The level of an in-group’s identity securitization can be estimated through a number of indicators, one of which is narrative. The stories, views and stances each in-group adopts in relation to its history of conflict and relation with their rival out-group can clarify whether that specific in-group feels victimized and threatened or safe and ready to reconcile. Accordingly, this study discusses identity securitization through narrative in relation to intractable conflicts. Are there conflicts around the world that, despite having been identified as intractable, stagnated or insoluble, show signs of identity de-securitization through narrative? This inquiry uses the case of the Cyprus conflict and its partitioned societies to present official narratives from the two communities and assess whether these narratives have transformed, indicating a less securitized in-group identity for the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Specifically, the study compares the official historical overviews presented by each community’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and discusses the extent to which the two official narratives present a securitized collective identity. In addition, the study will observe whether official stances by the two communities – as adopted by community leaders – have transformed to depict less securitization over time. Additionally, the leaders’ reflection of popular opinion is evaluated through recent opinion polls from each community. Cyprus is currently experiencing renewed optimism for reunification, with the leaders of its two communities engaging in rigorous negotiations, and with rumors calling for a potential referendum for reunification to be taking place even as early as within 2016. Although leaders’ have shown a shift in their rhetoric and have moved away from narratives of victimization, this is not the case for the official narratives used by their respective ministries of foreign affairs. The study’s findings explore whether this narrative inconsistency proves that Cyprus is transitioning towards reunification, or whether the leaders are risking sending a securitized population to the polls to reject a potential reunification. More broadly, this study suggests that in the event that intractable conflicts might be moving towards viable peace, in-group narratives--official narratives in particular--can act as indicators of the extent to which rival entities have managed to reconcile.

Keywords: Conflict, Identity, Narrative, Reconciliation.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1112286

References:

[1] M. C. Ross, Cultural Contestation in Ethnic Conflict, Cambridge: University Press, 2007.
[2] N. Slocum-Bradley, Promoting Conflict or Peace through Identity, Hampshire: Ashgate, 2008.
[3] S. N. Kalyvas, The Logic of Violence in Civil War, Cambridge: University Press, 2006.
[4] Z. Bekerman and M. Zembylas, Teaching contested narratives: Identity, memory and reconciliation in peace education and beyond. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
[5] H. and G. Burgess, “Intractability and the Frontier of the Field” in Conflict Resolution Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 2, Wiley Periodicals INc, 2006, pp. 177–186.
[6] L. Kriesberg, “Nature, Dynamics, and Phases of Intractability”, in Turbulent Peace: The Challenges of Managing International Conflict, C. Chester A., Hampson, F. Osler, P. Aall, Eds. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press. 2001.
[7] D. Rothbart and K. V. Korostelina. Identity, Morality and Threat: Studies in Violent Conflict, Plymouth: Lexington Books, 2006.
[8] Weber, The Methodology of the Social Sciences, E. A. Shils, H. A. Finch, Eds. Illinois: The Free Press of Glencloe, 1949.
[9] P. Arthur, “Memory retrieval and truth recovery”, in Handbook of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, D. J. D. Sandole, S. Byrne, I. Sandole-Staroste and J. Senehi, Eds. Oxon: Routledge, 2011.
[10] B. Buzan, O. Waever and J. de Wilde. A New Framework for Security Analysis, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998.
[11] I. Buruma, ‘The joys and perils of victimhood’, New York Review of Books, 18 April, 1999.
[12] F. Kratochwil, 'History, Action and Identity,' European Journal of International Relations, vol. 12, 2006, pp. 5-29
[13] J. Senehi, “Building peace: Storytelling to transform conflicts constructively”, in Handbook of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, D. J. D. Sandole, S. Byrne, I. Sandole-Staroste and J. Senehi, Eds. Oxon: Routledge, 2011.
[14] R. C. Solomon, ‘In Defense of Sentimentality’, Oxford Scholarship Online, New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Viewed on 8 August 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/019514550X.001.0001
[15] D. Bar-Tal, G. H. Bennick, “The Nature of Reconciliation as an Outcome and as a Process,” in Y. Bar-Siman-Tov, Ed. From Conflict Resolution to Reconciliation, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
[16] G.H. Kelling, Countdown to Rebellion: British Policy in Cyprus, 1939-1955, New York: Greenwood Press, 1990.
[17] R. Bryant, “An Education in Honor: Patriotism and the Schools of Cyprus” in Cyprus and Its People: Nation, Identity, and Experience in an Unimaginable Community, 1955-1997, V. Calotychos, Ed., Oxford: Westview Press, 1998.
[18] R. Coughlan, “Cyprus: From Corporate Autonomy to the Search for Territorial Federalism” in Autonomy and Ethnicity: Negotiating Competing Claims in Multi-ethnic States, Y. Ghai, Ed., Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
[19] O. Haklai, N. Loizides, “Settlers and Conflict over Contested Territory” in Settlers in Contested Lands: Territorial Disputes and Ethnic Conflict, O. Haklai, N. Loizides, Eds. California: Stanford University Press, 2015.
[20] D. Hannay, Cyprus: The Search for a Solution. London: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 2005.
[21] F. Strazzari, “Between ‘Messy Aftermath’ and ‘Frozen Conflicts’: Chimeras and Realities of Sustainable Peace”, HUMSEC Journal, no. 2 2008, pp.45-66.
[22] M. Hadjipavlou, “The Cyprus Conflict: Root Causes and Implications for Peacebuilding”, in Journal of Peace Research, vol. 44, no. 3, Sage Publications 2007, pp. 349–365
[23] K. C. Markides, The Rise and Fall of the Cyprus Republic. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977.
[24] Clerides, Glafkos. Documentations of an Epoch: 1993 – 2003. Nicosia: Politeia Publications, 2007.
[25] V. Coufoudakis, Cyprus: A Contemporary Problem in Historical Perspective, Minneapolis: Modern Greek Studies, University of Minnesota, 2006.
[26] M. Yashin, “Three Generations, Three Identities, Three 'Patries' Within Twentieth-Century Cypriot Poetry” in Cyprus and Its People: Nation, Identity, and Experience in an Unimaginable Community, 1955-1997, V. Calotychos, Ed., Oxford: Westview Press, 1998.
[27] RoC MFA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus. Historical Overview of the Cyprus Question. 2008. Accessed on 05 December 2015 http://www.mfa.gov.cy/mfa/mfa2006.nsf/index_en/index_en?OpenDocument#
[28] TRNC MFA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Historical Background”, The Cyprus Issue. 2011. Accessed on 05 December 2015 http://mfa.gov.ct.tr/
[29] V. Burr, Social Constructionism, Second Edition, Sussex: Routledge, 2003.
[30] Phileleftheros, Newspaper Archives, 20 July 2000, Accessed on 10 February 2016.
[31] Alitheia, Newspaper Archives, 20 July 2000, Accessed on 10 February 2016.
[32] Charavgi, Newspaper Archives, 20 July 2000, Accessed on 10 February 2016.
[33] Cyprus Mail, Newspaper Archives, 20 July 2000, Accessed on 10 February 2016.
[34] Cyprus PIO, Turkish Cypriot Press Review by the Cyprus Press and Information Officw, 20 July 2000, Accessed on 10 February 2016.
[35] Afrika, Turkish Cypriot Press Review by the Cyprus Press and Information Office, 20 July 2015, Accessed on 10 February 2016.
[36] CyBC, Presidential Statement, 20 July 2015, Accessed on 10 February 2016.
[37] Alitheia, Newspaper Archives, 01 April 1963, Accessed on 10 February 2016.
[38] Sigmalive, “Anastasiades-Akinci give joint wishes to Cypriot people”, Sigmalive Politics, 24 December 2015, Accessed on 20 February 2016 http://www.sigmalive.com/en/news/politics/139223/anastasiadesakinci-give-joint-wishes-to-cypriot-people
[39] International Peacekeeping Alliance (Interpeace), “Bridging the Gap in the Inter-Communal Negotiations: An Island-Wide Study of Public Opinion in Cyprus”, Cyprus 2015: Research and Dialogue for a Sustainable Future, Lemesos, 2010. Accessed on 15 September 2015 http://www.seedsofpeace.eu/research/participatory-polling/reports/item/35-bridging-the-gap-in-the-inter-communal-negotiations-an-island-wide-study-of-public-opion-in-cyprus-july-2011
[40] Paideia News, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots feel ‘Cypriots’, study finds, 25 February 2015. Accessed on 10 February 2016.
[41] G. Allport, The Nature of Prejudice. Cambridge: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc, 1954.
[42] W. Zartman, “The Timing of Peace Initiatives: Hurting Stalemates and Ripe Moments”. The Global Review of Ethnopolitics. vol.1, no.1, John Hopkins University, 2001, pp. 8-18.