Political Representation of Minorities in Greece and Turkey – Nationalism, Reciprocity and Europeanization
What influences the political representation of minorities? Does a non-core group pursue a certain pattern of collective political behavior, or does it have the ability to alter it through struggle with other groups by calculating the existing opportunities and restrictions? This book addresses these important questions by focusing on the history of political representation of the Muslim-Turkish minority in Greece and the GreekOrthodox minority in Turkey, two communities whose rights are linked to each other via the “reciprocity principle” written in the Lausanne Treaty, signed by two countries that have long-lasting conflicts. Drawing on presentation of related political history, systematic coding of parliamentary debates and works, minority and mainstream newspapers, and elite interviews, the author analyzes and explains ignored linkages between institutions, bilateral relations between Greece and Turkey, and the role of external factors that enable or constrain minority communities’ access to political life.