The Location of Cyprus in the Southern European Context: Europeanisation as Modernisation

The question of ‘modernisation ’ of the state in Cyprus has recently received a great deal of attention in Cypriot politics. During the last Parliamentary elections in May 2000, the question of ‘modernisation ’ entered the political dictionary of the mainstream parties. All political forces professed to be ‘European’, they pledged commitment to the EU accession process and the debate over ‘modernisation ’ was closely linked to the policies of harmonisation with the EU in the light of accession. However, little critical work exists to examine Europeanisation that assesses the specific policies employed, the policy goals and kind of issues the processes entails. It has become the ‘sacred cow ’ of Cypriot politics. This paper sets the context within which the Europeanisation of Cyprus. This paper first looks at the policy of accession as a solution to the Cyprus problem and then it critically reviews the literature on Europeanisation in Cyprus. Finally, the paper considers the ‘southern European question ’ in an effort to demystify ‘Europe ’ and proposes a broader interpretative framework for policy formulation, so that ‘modernisation ’ takes into account notions such as democratisation, civil society development, social justice and social welfare.