Partisan Responses to the European Union in Cyprus

Abstract

In Cyprus, the EU cleavage has never gained a prominent position in domestic party competition, at least hitherto. However, the EU could become politicized as a result of recent economic developments. The article analyses party responses to the EU and suggests that Cyprus party politics towards the EU are largely determined by: (a) strategic factors relating to party competition and governmentability, (b) the country’s specific circumstances, i.e. the unresolved Cyprus problem and (c) public opinion. Nonetheless, a turn to the economy is already evident in most recent times.

Key words:

• Cyprus
• European Union
• political parties
• strategy
• public opinion

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank JEI’s two anonymous referees for their comments on previous versions of the paper and the editors for their support.