Table of contents

“A Century of Greek-Turkish Relations is an important handbook written by leading authorities from both shores of the Aegean Sea. Greek and Turkish scholars present in a balanced and objective way, as well as in a graspable and meaningful manner, the main periods in which key events brought the two sides into dispute or even conflict. These events, which are integrated in parallel and conflicting national narratives, fuel the historicity of the two national rivals. A century since the end of the Greek-Turkish war, the trauma of the Greek military defeat and the “disaster of the Asia Minor Greeks”, the establishment of the Republic of Turkey and the emblematic Treaty of Lausanne, render this kind of handbook undoubtedly essential. It opens the discussion to the wider audience in a rational and composed way and most importantly, the reader can follow through the pages, the dialogue between Turkish and Greek scholars. A book of this kind was missing from public history.” – Prof. Sia Anagnostopoulou, Panteion University “As an expert on the subject of “minorities” for the past fifty years with a number of publications in Turkish, English, and French, and based on the experts that are participating in the A Century of Greek-Turkish Relations: A Handbook, there is no doubt that this will become an indispensable tool, and above all, an objective account of the Greek-Turkish relations for both experts and the wider public.” – Prof. (emeritus) Baskin Oran, Ankara University “As editors of this important and timely book, Nikos Christofis and Anthony Deriziotis assert that uneducated narratives have perpetuated misunderstandings within Turkish-Greek relations. In their enlightening work, they dismantle these misconceptions, offering a nuanced exploration of the historical and contemporary complexities between the two nations. By featuring insights from leading experts, this book provides a crucial resource for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Turkish-Greek relations, presenting new historical insights and analytical viewpoints on bilateral relations.” – Prof. Evren Balta, Özyeğin University “A comprehensive and insightful survey of Greek-Turkish relations. A number of distinguished academics have offered their expertise succeeding in the formidable task of touching upon several sensitive issues avoiding stereotypes and easy readings of problems that are burdened by history. A must read for students and experts alike.” – Prof. Sotiris Roussos, University of Peloponnese CONTENTS Preface – Nikos Christofis and Anthony Deriziotis The Uses and Abuses of History in Greece and Turkey – Nikos Christofis and Kerem Öktem The Greek-Turkish War of 1919–1922 – Charalampos Minasidis The 1923 Greco-Turkish Population Exchange: An Assessment of its History and Long Shadow at its Centennial – Aytek Soner Alpan Agreements and Friendship between Greece and Turkey in 1930: Multifaceted Official Nationalist Discourses and Opposing Voices – Anna Vakali Anti-Rum Politics in Turkey, 1923-1946 – Alexandros Lamprou “The State Will Always Pursue You”: A History of Greeks in the Republic of Turkey – Kutay Onayli Muslim Minority of Greece: From Lausanne to the Greek Civil War – Samim Akgönül Greek-Turkish Relations in the Shadow of World War II – Zuhal Mert Uzuner Realpolitik with a Twist: The United States and Greek-Turkish Relations – Ekavi Athanassopoulou Rum Polites in the Context of Turkish-Greek Relations – İlay Romain Örs The Muslim Minority of Western Thrace, 1945-1999: A Strained Saga – Georgios Niarchos The “Troubled Triangle”: Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus, 1940s-1990s – Nikos Christofis Greek-Turkish Relations During the Junta Regime in Greece (1967-1974) – Melek Fırat and Özge Özkoç The Aegean Dispute – Alexis Heraclides Greek-Turkish Relations and Civil Society: Healing the Wounds? – Leonidas Karakatsanis Greek-Turkish Relations: The ‘Helsinki Moment’ in Greece’s Strategy to Turn the EU into A Catalyst for Conflict Resolution – Panayotis J. Tsakonas Greek-Turkish Relations and the Refugee Question – Anthony Deriziotis Reciprocal Minorities in Greece and Turkey: Α Century of Adversity – Konstantinos Tsitselikis Energized Geopolitical Turmoil in the Endangered Eastern Mediterranean: Towards Anthropocene Geopolitics? – Emre İşeri “Hawks and Romantics”: The Role of Media in Turkish-Greek Diplomatic Seesaw – Emre Metin Bilginer “With or Without You”: Turkish-Greek Relations from the Perspective of Securitisation Theory – Başak Alpan The Prospects and Challenges for Cooperation in Cyprus – Ahmet Sözen and Devrim Şahin Greek – Turkish Encounters in the City: Who Meets Who in Kadıköy? – Kerem Öktem Post-script – Anthony Deriziotis and Nikos Christofis

Bahcheli analyzes the dispute over Cyprus from its emergence in the 1950s to the coup against President Makarios which brought Greece and Turkey to war in 1974. He considers the Cyprus issue within the narrow context of Greek-Turkish relations, and the broad context of international relations

This volume aims addresses the issues of Greek-Turkish conflict from a critical perspective and provides an up-to-date assessment of the recent rapprochement and its future development.

Drawing upon anthropological studies that document culturally specific ways of perceiving ethic Others in Greece and Cyprus, this book explores the cultural boundaries of the categories ‘Greek’ and ‘Turk’, and compares views on what it means to be one of these ethnic groups or both. The contributors examine the opinions of diverse social groups, such as ordinary middle-class citizens, intellectuals, army officers, children, villagers, refugees from Asia Minor, and Greek-and-Turkisj-Cypriots. They also investigate the local attitudes to international politics and highlight the contextual – as opposed to immutable and essentialist – meaning of evaluations about nations, such as Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, and their citizens. When Greeks think about Turks carefully unpacks the cultural meaning of popular metaphors, stereotypes and versions of history as these are articulated in the context of discussions about the Turks in Greece. It sets the template for understanding how local perceptions of resemblance and difference provide a conceptual framework for defining and negotiating ethnic identity at the local, national and international level. It sheds valuable light on the politics of identity-making and the constitution of nationalism in Greece and Cyprus. This book was previously published as a special issue of South European Society and Politics.

When Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), was arrested in February 1999, it marked a turning point in relations between Greece and Turkey. As the country's most wanted man, his arrest was greeted with jubilation throughout most of Turkey. However, it also led to a public outcry when it emerged that he had been captured leaving the Greek Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. This was seen as definitive proof that the Greek Government had been aiding and abetting the PKK. In the days and weeks that followed the arrest, relations between the Aegean neighbours sank to their lowest level since the summer of 1974, when Athens and Ankara had come to the brink of war over Cyprus. However, by the end of the year, the picture could not have been more different. An improbable series of events that included a regional conflict, two major disasters and the death of a senior Greek politician had led to a complete transformation in the relations between the two countries. The crowning moment of this change came in December when Greece dropped its long-standing opposition to Turkish candidacy for EU membership. How did this remarkable change come about? Who should take the credit? And what did it mean for diplomatic relations in the Eastern Mediterranean? This is the story of how two countries started down a path to peace after decades of tension and hostility and how, over the course of one monumental year, relations between Greece and Turkey went from the brink of conflict to an unprecedented affirmation of friendship and solidarity.