Transitional justice and acceptance of cohabitation in Cyprus

Abstract

This article draws on the case of Cyprus probing the acceptance of renewed cohabitation in post-conflict societies. Besides focusing on the two main communities on the island, the article also examines the views of the IDPs as well as the settler/migrant community. We identify variations in support for acceptance of renewed cohabitation across different population groups, looking at age, gender, income, refugee status, contact and past victimization within each group. In Study 1, we consider Greek Cypriot attitudes to the Turkish settler/migrant community and juxtapose those with attitudes to indigenous Turkish Cypriots. In Study 2, we compare Turkish Cypriots and settlers aiming to evaluate their attitudes towards Greek Cypriots. Findings show that, individual victimization, except a tendency related to the IDP status, does not account for variations in acceptance of cohabitation; those who support peace amnesties demonstrate more tolerance towards outgroup members and intergroup contact is mitigating inter-group intolerance.