This book follows the author's 22-year journey through Cyprus and surrounding countries beyond in an exploration of conflict resolution with regard to the Cyprus Problem. The struggle is emblematic of numerous international attempts over the years to resolve this identity-based ethnic conflict historically referred to as the Cyprus Problem. So far all have failed miserably. The current situation indicates any solution other than a formal partition of the island between the two communities seems increasingly remote as the years pass.This has led the author to conclude a resolution to the Cyprus Problem no longer is a realistic political goal, but rather one eclipsed by the need for a non-political solution, which at least may succeed in convincing people on both sides to live together peacefully for their joint benefit.  

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this book provides ready access to legislation and practice concerning the environment in Cyprus. A general introduction covers geographic considerations, political, social and cultural aspects of environmental study, the sources and principles of environmental law, environmental legislation, and the role of public authorities. The main body of the book deals first with laws aimed directly at protecting the environment from pollution in specific areas such as air, water, waste, soil, noise, and radiation. Then, a section on nature and conservation management covers protection of natural and cultural resources such as monuments, landscapes, parks and reserves, wildlife, agriculture, forests, fish, subsoil, and minerals. Further treatment includes the application of zoning and land-use planning, rules on liability, and administrative and judicial remedies to environmental issues. There is also an analysis of the impact of international and regional legislation and treaties on environmental regulation. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable resource for environmental lawyers handling cases affecting Cyprus. Academics and researchers, as well as business investors and the various international organizations in the field, will welcome this very useful guide, and will appreciate its value in the study of comparative environmental law and policy.

This book examines the foreign policy of the Republic of Cyprus, particularly since 2004--the year of its accession to the European Union and of the failed Annan Plan V of the United Nations which aimed to solve the decades-old Cyprus Problem. Scholarly work about the politics and foreign policy of the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) has been almost entirely analyzed through the prism of the Cyprus Problem. This is not without justification since the Cyprus Problem is indeed central to the social, political, and economic life of Cyprus. However, Cyprus is located in a highly neuralgic area of historical and geopolitical importance that is, more often than not, characterized by rapid developments, instability, and insecurity. Therefore, the RoC's politics and foreign policy go well beyond the confines of the Cyprus Problem, or so they should. Although the subject of the book is not international by definition, the book touches upon many regional and international dimensions that render it relevant for anyone who wants to better understand not just Cyprus but also the broader region and its importance for regional and international actors.

This book critically engages with theories of the recognition of states under international law. Demonstrating that recognition is a constitutive relation that is imperative for the construction of international subjects, the book argues that prevalent theories of recognition fall short of accommodating this imperative. The book traces the source of this shortcoming to Vattel's notion of absolute sovereignty. A paradox pertains to this notion as absolutely independent states seemingly come into being in a community which sets the law that determines statehood. The book shows how this paradox is reproduced in constitutive theorists' idea of recognition as a sovereign gesture of consent and declarative theorists' perception that states can come into being on a singular basis, without any need for interaction. This necessitates a rethinking of the role of recognition in a way that circumvents the problems generated by the notion of absolute independence, whilst accommodating the relational element of coming into being. To achieve this purpose, the book draws upon Hegel's theory of recognition, supplementing it with Bataille's and Derrida's critical readings of Hegel's thought. In this respect, the book departs from the restrictive economy of recognition that constantly recreates a paradoxical perception of sovereignty, elaborating a more general economy of recognition that accommodates the notion of subjects in flux. This critical engagement with a key notion in international law will appeal to legal and political theorists, as well as scholars and students in international relations.

We are likely to learn much more by exploring the systems of understudied nations rather than by replicating studies about cases we already know much about This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of political parties and party systems in each of the democratic European microstates, which tend to be relatively more democratic and stable than other party systems. Looking at party system development and institutionalization, the book examines what has caused the stability of microstates¿ party systems in the first place and to extract important lessons of how politics work in other "low-scale" political contexts, for instance, at the sub-national level. With chapters provided by leading experts in the field, the book contributes towards scaling down the level of analysis in comparative studies in social sciences that remain state-centred. It concludes with a discussion on the need to bring in microstates in the study of party politics in general. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of party systems and political parties, microstates, elections and democracy, European politics and more broadly to comparative politics.