Politicising Nationalism and Anti-Colonialism: The Nationalist Milieu

To understand Greek Cypriot nationalist politics we need to look at the mobilisation and organisation of the anti-colonial cleavage within the Greek community of Cyprus which produced two opposing right-wing factions. In this chapter, I look at their colonial stances, their vested interests, their strategies, etc. The way nationalism was politicised left a lasting imprint on Cypriot politics, and not just nationalist politics, which was marked by internal rivalries and conflicts, especially that between intransigents and moderates. Nationalist party politics was also affected by external influences, particularly developments in Greece and the stance of British authorities, while there was also internal political opposition, i.e., the Communists.