Title:
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Identities in limbo : securitisation of identities in conflict environments and its implications on ontological security : prospects of desecuritisation for reconciliation in Cyprus
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With the overall aim of contributing to the peace efforts in Cyprus and facilitating transformative peace on the island, this thesis explores the relationship between (de)securitisation, ontological security and reconciliation in protracted conflict environments. The theoretical framework is built upon this trilateral nexus and uses Cyprus as a single case study for its application. In line with the overall aim, the thesis improves to the theorisation of institutionalised securitisations by complimenting the Copenhagen School with the Paris School, enriches the concept of (de)securitisation with ontological security literature and broadens the dual-ethnic approach to the Cyprus Problem by adding the Turkish settlers/immigrants to the empirical analysis. Underpinned by both theoretical and empirical contributions to the relevant literature, the thesis provides a more nuanced understanding of identity and friend-enemy configurations by analysing the securitisation dynamics that go beyond the primary self to include other-others, other-selves and othered-selves through a strategic blend of quantitative and qualitative methods. Finally, the thesis suggests that we need to couple the concept desecuritisation with ontological security considerations in order to fully understand and explore its potential as a facilitating tool for transformative peace. More specifically for the case of Cyprus, the thesis argues that securitisation of Turkish immigrants as a threat creates ontological dissonance and peace-anxieties for the two main communities in Cyprus; thus, calls for their desecuritisation and inclusion in peacebuilding efforts.
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