ABSTRACT
The fundamental issue contingent on the problem of minority integration concerns the preconditions of political community, and this has been explored with a good deal of formalism. Besides the constitutional and ideological impediments to the creation of political community in the republic of Cyprus, a structural source of division and minority antagonism toward the majority has been the socio-economic inequalities between the two communities. The structural inequalities blended with other forms of antagonism to further obstruct the feeling of political community from developing. The observations point to what could be considered the most critical factor in the attainment of political community. The conclusions that emerge from the foregoing considerations, as far as the prerequisites of political community in plural societies are concerned, suggest basically a counterpoint to the experience of Cyprus. The foremost, political community might be achieved if democratic citizenship is given precedence over communal membership as the basis of political identity.
