The elusive middle path. A comparative analysis of the colonial past of Cyprus and Ireland

This article proposes a comparative and longue durée analysis of Ireland and Cyprus; two predominantly white and Christian nations, but with some of the most intractable ethnopolitical conflicts of the 20th century to have erupted on European soil. Its objective is twofold. First, it highlights similarities and differences in their colonial history, that is both in the ways they were ruled by Imperial Britain and the ways they responded to her rule, particularly after the emergence of nationalism and the outbreak of insurgency campaigns calling into question the legitimacy of British presence there. Second, it illustrates the challenges of overcoming the rigid boundary dictated by colonialism and nationalism and defending a credible 'middle path' on either side of the colonial divide.