ABSTRACT
Cyprus’s political trajectory is stigmatized by the political problem of the island, largely nested in the fragmented ethnic, historical, social and institutional foundations of the independent Cypriot state that came into being in 1960 institutionalizing the communal dualism into the state apparatus and the policy-making process (Joseph 1997). Since the de facto partition of the island in 1974, the unique security and political conundrum and the continuously unsuccessful mediating attempts for a just and functional solution to the problem have preoccupied almost exclusively the Cypriot polity (Evriviades and Bourantonis 1994 etc.). The most recent attempt, in 2004, to bring forward the reunification of the two communities was stalled following the rejection of the Annan plan – from the name of the Secretary General of the United Nations – by the Greek-Cypriot community in the Republic of Cyprus referendum. Despite the non-conducive security environment throughout the years, the recovery of the Cypriot economy following the 1974 imbroglio has been remarkable with the country ranking first among all new member countries in terms of economic performance.1
