Birth of a Nation

In this chapter we need to examine some of the key landmarks that have helped to influence events in the island’s most recent history and its attempts at authentic self-determination: sovereignty backed by protectorates, but thwarted by the complexities of the constitutional arrangement, the ethnic and cultural makeup of the island, and wider geopolitical pressures. It is important here to unravel how Greek Cyprus — both its elites and ordinary citizens — reacted to the breakdown of the system of power-sharing after 1963, and to the constant threats to its security that followed: most important, the 1974 invasions and its consequences. The reaction to these threats took different forms. Key to this response in political terms was the successful internationalisation of the island’s problems through the United Nations in New York. This was led by then president, Archbishop Makarios, who displayed an acute ability at playing off domestically one party against another to maintain his position as the elected head of government. Beyond that, it was to show the world that it could mirror the success of other island states in the provision of financial services to the international community: exploiting its constitutional foundation in British common law and appealing particularly to those geographically proximate clients from Russian and Eastern Europe, where banking laws were not as developed as in the west.