Cyprus: Contested Borders in the Heart of the Mediterranean

Cyprus today raises a number of interesting issues for its history, geography, culture, religion, economy and politics. The field study trip to Cyprus is used in order to apply the IR theories learned in class to this relevant case study, and illustrate the practice of many IR issues (e.g. the politics of contested borders; EU-Turkish negotiations; religion and politics; democracy; energy politics; internal national conflict/separatism; the political impact of the EU’s response to the Great Recession; and human rights). The course integrates classroom learning with seminars from distinguished lecturers, cultural experiences and informal encounters. The field trip will rely on local contacts (e.g. politicians, journalists, diplomats, members of the academia and of think tanks, NGOs and IGOs), which will be asked to brief us on the political and geopolitical relevance of the Cyprus issue nationally and internationally.