Liberal norm contestation in the periphery: assessing Türkiye’s shifting peacemaking approach in Cyprus

The contestation of liberal peacemaking is assessed as part of a broader normative shift, characterized by growing challenges to the Liberal International Order (LIO), led by rising powers such as Russia and China. This paper focuses on Türkiye as a rising middle-power country situated on the European periphery to assess Türkiye's evolving peacemaking approach regarding the Cyprus conflict. The political discourse for the post-2017 period reveals that Türkiye has engaged in two contestation types with regard to the Cyprus conflict: First, power contestation, through which Türkiye contests the actorness of the EU and the UN in peacemaking in Cyprus. Second, normative contestation, wherein Türkiye prioritizes sovereign equality over mediated negotiations and contests the selective application of core liberal principles such as justice and rights in peacemaking in Cyprus. Both contestation strategies reflect Türkiye's effort to reassert agency and secure status as a rising power within the international order.