At this session of Turkey Now!, which will be moderated by Reşat Kasaba (University of Washington) and George Kyris (University of Birmingham), the discussion will draw on insights from Rebecca Bryant (Utrecht University) and Mete Hatay's (Peace Research Institute Oslo, Cyprus Centre) recently published book, Sovereignty Suspended: Building the So-Called State (U Penn Press, 2020).
It will explore two parallel phenomena: the Turkish government's increasing intervention in Cyprus' north and the growth of mafia capitalism there. Bryant and Hatay will trace the current conjuncture to post-1974 state-building in north Cyprus and show how, in the context of a frozen conflict, Turkish Cypriots' attempts to circumvent non-recognition have created irreconcilable paradoxes that undermine their so-called statehood rather than strengthen it.
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