Exchange Theory and Conflict Regulation: Cyprus through the British-Irish (Northern lreland) Prism

Abstract

Considering insights from comparative conflict regulation -specifically from the British-lrish intergovernmental approach to Northern lreland- this article suggests ways ro regulate opposing claims to national self-determination in Cyprus. After a discussion of the centrality of the Greek and Turkish 'matron-states', and the roles of the EU and UN in conflict regulation, the author analyses the Annan Plan as a basis for a settlement. The article suggests that mutual and reciprocal exchange relations between 'matron-states' can contribute to necessary trade-offs at subsidiary levels of dispute by offering side-payments to compensate extreme ethno-nationalists for the denial of their maximal ambitions.