Signposts: Cyprus, UK and the Future of the SBAs

Abstract

The UK Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) in Cyprus are products of the terms and conditions attached to Cypriot independence in 1960, and are highly unusual territorial and political entities. Since the 1974 division of the island, the SBAs have co-existed with the Republic of Cyprus, the unilaterally declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and a UN- administered Buffer Zone. Recent reunification talks between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots hold out the promise of change, however. Klaus Dodds, Rikke Bjerg Jensen and Costas M Constantinou explore ‘signposts’ of the changing landscape – both figuratively and literally – that help make sense of the current situation and also illuminate three possible future scenarios facing Cyprus, the UK and its SBAs. © 2015 RUSI.