Newspapers, Nationalism And Empire

Abstract

This article examines the development of an indigenous Turkish language press in Cyprus during the British colonial period (1878–1960). It argues that Turkish Cypriot newspapers were highly influential in the propagation of ethno-nationalist ideology, endorsing separate Greek and Turkish communal identities on the island and promoting ethnic attachments to the neighbouring Turkish Republic. The development of Turkish Cypriot newspapers was also shaped by the strict anti-nationalist censorship of the British colonial government and by the intensification of the Greek Cypriot campaign for unification with Greece. Finally, this article traces the conflicts between three rival newspapers in the immediate aftermath of the British colonial period as battle lines were drawn in the new nation.