Michalis S Michael

Four hundred years later, Desdemona’s request resonates prophetically with the predicament in which ‘modern’ Cyprus finds itself. In its current European Union (EU)-incarnation, Venice has been replaced by more contemporary European centres such as Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg. Besides this shift in political gravity, the contextual basis of the Europe-Cyprus relationship has not fundamentally changed: Cyprus, geopolitically, strategically and arguably culturally, still remains at the periphery of Europe. With EU membership of the Republic of Cyprus (RoC), there has been a notable alteration to this axiom which transfers the island from the ‘outer’ to the ‘inner’ periphery. Europeanisation of Cyprus brings into focus a series of cultural, societal and identity-based concerns that are central to Europe’s new security agenda in the post-Cold War period.

ABSTRACT.By examining the experience of an innovative and ambitious initiative in the evolution of the interfaith movement in Australia, this article analyses three contested themes: (1) how to connect religion more closely with culture, thereby placing interfaith relations within the context of intercultural awareness; (2) how to develop a regional initiative which, informed by Australia's urban history and sociology, would complement and dovetail with pre-existing interfaith and intercultural activities; and, (3) how to translate the general principles of dialogue into the operational environments of local communities. By analyzing the insertion of dialogue into the modalities of "everyday" life, this article illuminates how a multidimensional approach to interfaith dialogue can resonate with the cultural-political specificities of a major metropolitan concentration.Keywords: Australia, dialogue, intercultural, interfaith, multiculturalism, regional networksAt the launch of a government commissioned report on religion, culture and security, one of its authors triumphantly exclaimed that "God was not dead!" - at least in Australia.1 This proclamation encapsulates the sense of opportunity felt by many religiously inclined scholars whose discourse had been sidelined for decades by an essentially secularist public discourse. Whether this resurgence of religion was explicable in terms of the decline of ideological conflicts in the post-Cold War period or as an identity based reaction to post modernity, one thing is clear: religion was back on the agenda.1. IntroductionAustralia prides itself on being a peaceful, open, multicultural and multifaith society. There is much to support this view, not least the relatively successful immigration program of the post- War period (Castles, 1992). Yet there is also evidence of unhealthy levels of racism, intolerance and xenophobia in the hysteria directed towards Asian migrants as exemplified in the Hanson phenomenon of the late 1990s, the recent treatment of asylumseekers, the high incidence of threats against Muslim individuals, schools and mosques, and the growing number of attacks against Indian students (Poynting, et. al., 2004; Neumann, 2004; Berman and Paradies, 2010; SEEWR, 2009).As an antidote to the "politics of fear" and an investment in social cohesion, Australia has during the last decade experienced an increase of interfaith dialogical activities. Government funded programs, interfaith and multifaith councils and networks, in conjunction with community and municipality initiated projects, have contributed a good deal of impetus to interfaith and intercultural dialogical activity. However, despite their proliferation, dialogue initiatives in Australia - as elsewhere - are confronted with a daunting challenge: how to ensure the relevant effectiveness, sustainability and interconnectedness of these initiatives. This tension is perhaps most clearly evident at local and regional levels which represent a microcosm of Australian society.2By focusing on a particular initiative - the first of its kind in Australia - the establishment of a Northern Interfaith and Intercultural Network (NIIN) in Melbourne's ethnic and religiously diverse northern suburbs, this article examines the extent to which the principles of dialogue have informed government and community responses to cultural and religious polarization, and whether or not an approach based on these principles can be effectively applied to local discourse and practice. By seeking to test the practical application of theories and methods that have been expressed at a relatively high level of abstraction, the article tackles the central question: how can dialogical principles be given practical relevance in the development of interfaith relations in a specific multicultural setting? Furthermore, how might these be made the subject of constructive communication and refinement in the regional context? …

When Cypriots are frustrated by a difficult situation, they often exclaim ‘it has become like the Cyprus problem!’ Such exclamations are typical of the way that everyday Cypriots stoically greet any new UN peace effort. As the UN prepares for another lacklustre initiative, we cannot help reminding ourselves of the pertinent question that has beleaguered the Cyprus problem for decades: why, despite endless negotiations and countless proposals, has there been no resolution to the Cyprus conflict? Any attempt to answer this question must, from the outset, first adopt a viewpoint that realises the limitations of traditional diplomacy and allows for alternative modes of analysis and resolution. Such an approach will soon reveal a concentric perspective of the Cyprus negotiations. The best way to understand this is to conceptualise the history of the intercommunal talks as an ever-expanding circle, each phase constituting a different layer in the circle, and each layer being determined in terms of three themes (parties involved, continuity/change and internal/external factors) that shape and give content to the negotiations at any given time. An overall assessment of the psychological and political dynamic that has thus far obstructed a resolution to the Cyprus problem reveals that since the acceptance of a bicommunal/bizonal federation, negotiations have followed a repetitious cyclical pattern where disagreements on the substantial issues saw both sides retreat to their entrenched positions. As talks progressed, they inevitably became more complicated with the introduction of greater detail and new points of disputation. In addition, talks were often hampered by the introduction of different interpretations to concepts that had previously been agreed upon. Further hindering the process throughout were the contrasting motives, priorities, preferences and objectives of the two sides, most starkly expressed in a series of dualisms: maintaining/changing the status quo, unification/separatism, federation/confederation, unitarism/decentralisation. In conceptual terms, disagreement over reunification fundamentally revolved around its structural form and, at least implicitly, the nature of power sharing. But underlying these differences was the intangible climate of mistrust between the two sides and their sense of insecurity, which meant the continuation of the status quo and contemplation of other unilateral options. The overall conclusion arising from any survey of the Cyprus talks is that in their current form and operating in isolation from other initiatives, they cannot overcome the

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Despite three decades of persistent efforts to bring about a negotiated settlement, the small island of Cyprus still remains physically and demographically divided. Failure of the 2004 Annan Plan has compounded the need for a thorough reassessment of the Cyprus peace process with a view to ascertaining the reasons for its collapse. Drawing on the findings of research that attributes the failure of earlier negotiations to the negative balance between impeding influences and facilitating factors, the author examines the manner and the extent to which the Annan initiative internalized the lessons learned from these past failures. Was the collapse of the Annan initiative best explained in terms of the shortcomings of the mediating strategy, or did it fail because of the continuing intractability of the conflict (i.e. the two sides remain too far apart on the fundamentals for any mediating strategy to work)? This article examines how the Annan strategy sought to change the imbalance betw...

According to Greek mythology, Europa (Eyrv́ph), a Phoenician princess from Tyre (modernday Lebanon), was kidnapped by Zeus, who as a transformed white bull carried her across the eastern Mediterranean to Crete. For Herodotus and his contemporaries, Europe, bounded by the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, extended in the west from the Pillars of Hercules (Straits of Gibraltar) to Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea) in the east, with the mountain chain north of Thrace, Italy and Spain forming its northern boundary. Since then—and for the best part of two millennia—Europe’s relationship with the Middle East has been one of the pivots of human history. Islam, building on an extensive Irano-Semitic heritage (with significant Hellenic and JudaeoChristian components), gave birth soon after the death of the Prophet Mohammad to a cosmopolitan high culture which asserted its influence from the Latin West to China. Concurrent with its geographical expansion, Islam’s cultural and intellectual opening up—reflected as much in religious as in artistic, philosophical and astronomical endeavour—helped to introduce citied life into a great many frontier areas where only parochial and tribal identities had earlier prevailed. Not surprisingly, Muslims are proud of a remarkable legacy of cultural, intellectual, scientific, technological, political and military accomplishment spanning the best part of a millennium. They are, however, also aware of the subsequent decline in the power and influence of the Islamic world, and its corollary, a European ascendancy that brought with it colonial rule over much of the Islamic world. The European predominance is still with us, but its raison d’être and modus operandi have lost a good deal of their vigour and legitimacy. Colonies and protectorates have largely disappeared, spheres of influence have diminished in geographical scope, and the civilizing project has lost its political currency. Yet, Western dominance continues to play on the Muslim imagination. Here the linguistic slide from ‘European’ to ‘Western’ is highly instructive, for it reminds us that Europe, though it remains at the heart of the Western project, has over the last 100 years, and especially since World War II, ceded leadership to the United States. In the Muslim mind, however, this distinction, at least until recently, has been somewhat blurred—for two reasons. First, for the most part Western Europe and the United States remain closely tied by virtue of their military alliance, their common prosperity and the powerful political levers that they jointly bring to bear on regional and global governance. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Europe and the United States are seen as sharing the same dominant Orientalist mindset, the same discourse of power which seeks to interpret human history as a succession of stages culminating in the triumph of Western reason and Western social and political organisation. Islam’s grievances against the West are as numerous as they are deeply felt. Fred Halliday has identified eight recurring themes: domination and intervention (e.g. as experienced by Iran at the hands of Britain and Russia); partitioning of Muslim states (e.g. Palestine, Sudan); indifference to the sufferings of Muslim communities (e.g. Palestine, Bosnia, Kashmir); support for Israel; support for authoritarian regimes (e.g. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan); promotion of cultural corruption ( fisad ) among Muslims; double

In November 2012, La Trobe University’s Centre for Dialogue and the European Public Law Organization (EPLO) convened a regional dialogue in Athens on the proposal to establish a Middle East zone free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction as well as their means of delivery (WMDFZ). In preparation since April 2010, the dialogue was the product of extensive consultation with key stakeholders in the Middle East as well as outside the region. Those invited to participate were drawn largely from Arab countries, Iran, Israel and Turkey. Invitations were also issued to a few others noted for their expertise or involvement in or support for the proposed UN Helsinki Conference. It was envisaged that arising from the ‘Athens Dialogue’ a Report would be prepared setting out findings and recommendations. The report was to be forwarded to: the United Nations Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, Under-Secretary of State in Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jaakko Laajava, who is acting as the facilitator for the inter-governmental negotiations, the Russian, UK and US governments who are together the co-sponsors of the UN Helsinki Conference, and to other relevant governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. This would be done in time for the proposed Helsinki Conference which was scheduled for December 2012. In the light of subsequent US and other announcements indicating that the Helsinki Conference would be postponed, the sponsoring organisations have included in this Report a number of observations on recent developments and reflections on prospects for future dialogue and negotiations. The Athens Dialogue produced a number of proposals which could be taken to further the goal of security in the Middle East and assist the negotiation of a WMDFZ. These proposals, which, are even more relevant in the wake of the postponement of the Helsinki Conference, are summarised and listed as Annex A, on page 59 of this Report

The end of the Cold War and the subsequent void left in international relations by the collapse of superpower ‘certainty’ brought a sense of urgency to the search for a new world consensus, that would somehow emanate from and revolve around the UN. Indeed, the end of ideological and strategic bipolarity brought with it an unprecedented expectation that the UN would now be able to undertake the role for which it was originally intended: to resolve conflicts. Constrained by Cold War rivalries, the UN, it was thought, had for 45 years been handicapped in effectively pursuing its main objective: maintenance of international peace and security. And nowhere was peace more prevalently threatened than in intra-state conflicts which accounted for 53 out of 56 major armed conflicts between 1990 and 2000 — the majority conducted in Africa and Asia.1

Cyprus occupies an unenviable position among a group of intractable international conflicts that transcend their national borders and whose resolution has eluded third-party mediation. The Cyprus dispute has preoccupied theorists and practitioners of conflict resolution ever since the United Nations stationed its peacekeeping force on the island in 1964. Even attempts by the United Nations to revitalize the Cyprus talks following the 2004 referendum on the Annan plan have not yielded satisfactory results. For decades, the Cyprus problem has challenged conventional international analysis and defied traditional approaches to negotiation and peacemaking. This article grapples with the question of why this conflict has not been resolved despite endless negotiations. By extrapolating three seemingly distinct variables - Cypriotisation, Europeanisation, and post-Kemalism - this article alludes​ to changes in the conflict’s contextual parameters that are conducive to a political settlement.

By examining the experience of an innovative and ambitious initiative in the evolution of the interfaith movement in Australia, this article analyses three contested themes: first, how to connect religion more closely with culture, thereby placing interfaith relations within the context of intercultural awareness; second, how to develop a regional initiative which, informed by Australia’s urban history and sociology, would complement and dovetail with preexisting interfaith and intercultural activities; and third, how to translate the general principles of dialogue into the operational environments of local communities. By analysing the insertion of dialogue into the modalities of ‘everyday’ life, this article illuminates how a multidimensional approach to interfaith dialogue can resonate with the cultural–political specificities of a major metropolitan concentration.

By examining the experience of an innovative and ambitious initiative in the evolution of the interfaith movement in Australia, this article analyses three contested themes: first, how to connect religion more closely with culture, thereby placing interfaith relations within the context of intercultural awareness; second, how to develop a regional initiative which, informed by Australia’s urban history and sociology, would complement and dovetail with preexisting interfaith and intercultural activities; and third, how to translate the general principles of dialogue into the operational environments of local communities. By analysing the insertion of dialogue into the modalities of ‘everyday’ life, this article illuminates how a multidimensional approach to interfaith dialogue can resonate with the cultural–political specificities of a major metropolitan concentration.

Michael offers an introductory overview of Australian-Turkish relations in the context of the shifts over the last 100 years. In forging their cultural and political identity, Michael asserts, that both Australia and Turkey sought to reconcile their history with their geography. This chapter outlines the important nodes of interaction between Australia and Turkey, through both conflict and migration, from the Gallipoli landing to the present day. Finally, as traditional allies of the United States, Michael also notes how both countries experimented with redefining that relationship as middle powers.

Interweaving history and migration Michael in his chapter scopes the often polarized conversation hidden in Australia’s multiculturalism involving the ‘Ottoman diasporas’. By untangling the Ottoman discourse in Australia, Michael focuses on the in-congruencies pertaining to those non-Turkish diasporic communities who fled Ottoman Anatolia and eventually settled in Australia. In an attempt to reconcile conflicting memories, politics, and narratives, Michael argues for a less state-centric discourse as more befitting of the 2015 Centenary.

"Cyprus occupies an unenviable position among a group of intractable international conflicts which transcend their national borders and whose resolution has eluded third-party mediation. The Cyprus dispute has preoccupied theorists and practitioners of conflict resolution ever since the United Nations stationed its peacekeeping force on the island in 1964. Even attempts by the United Nations to revitalise the Cyprus talks following the 2004 referendum on the Annan plan have not yielded satisfactory results. For decades, the Cyprus problem has challenged conventional international analysis and defied traditional approaches to negotiation and peacemaking. This article grapples with the question of why this conflict has not been resolved despite endless negotiations. By extrapolating three seemingly distinct variables - Cypriotisation, Europeanisation and post-Kemalism - this article alludes to changes in the conflict’s contextual parameters that are conducive to a political settlement."

... 199 (1996): 2–7; for athe intellectual impact of Turkey's left between the wars see Kemal H ... said that the majority of EU states were content with, indeed dependent upon, Greece's veto to ... and to what extent the country is prepared to transform itself as part of its Europeanisation. ...

In this paper I shall attempt to show that the Greek community in Australia has played a significant role in the determination of foreign policy as it pertains to the Cyprus issue. It does so by examining in extensive terms the role of the Greek community and the parliamentarians they are associated with during the Hawke Labor Governments (1983-90). The general thesis here is that in Australian foreign policy, Cyprus is an issue which under normal circumstances would have been treated as marginal but which became prominent due to the role of the Greek community in Australia.