The peculiarities of the Cyprus airspace : implications for modern state sovereignty

Abstract

Based on the critical geopolitics theory and focused on the importance of the third dimension, this thesis examines the formation of the various geographies of the Cyprus’ airspace through the lens of the Republic of Cyprus’ (RoC) political evolution and their impact on the state’s sovereignty. Having as reference points, three major events that functioned as turning points for the political situation of the island – namely, the establishment of the Sovereign British Areas and their status, the Turkish invasion in 1974 and the declaration of the Cyprus’ EEZ after its accession to the EU – the research goes through long historical periods and analyses the developments that impacted upon the formation of the Cyprus airspace’s geographies. The thesis argues that the Cyprus airspace constitutes an inextricable part of the entire Cyprus space that is marked by the prominent geographic location and the political history of the island situated in the centre of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The relation between the island’s political situation and the superjacent airspace is bidirectional in such a way that forms a continuous spiral of influence. By virtue of this interaction, the geopolitical status of the Cyprus airspace affects in its turn the entity of the RoC state and more specifically its territorial integrity and sovereignty; this research examines the aforementioned impact whilst it sheds light to nebulous and even new aspects of the relation between the airspace geopolitical representations and state sovereignty. For the first time ever, the opportunity for academic discussion of the Cyprus airspace’ issues through the critical geopolitics’ lens is provided by this thesis. The multifarious and complicated geographies of the Cyprus airspace are illuminated whilst new aspects of its geopolitical status are revealed.