Pre-Conditions for Peace

The report examines the role of civil society in the Cyprus peace process, focusing on three distinct initiatives: the Home for Cooperation (H4C), the Cyprus Dialogue Forum (CDF), and Unite Cyprus Now (UCN). While these organizations have fostered inter-communal contact and created platforms for dialogue, they face significant challenges, including limited outreach to the general public, ideological barriers, and a lack of meaningful integration with official Track I negotiations. The author argues that sustainable peace requires both a more inclusive grassroots movement and a commitment from political leaders to empower civil society and institutionalize inter-communal cooperation.

• The Home for Cooperation (H4C) serves as a sustainable bi-communal hub in the Buffer Zone that facilitates interaction through social and educational activities, though it struggles to attract new volunteers and primarily reaches people already inclined toward peace.
• The Cyprus Dialogue Forum (CDF) operates as a Track 1.5 initiative by including political parties and diverse stakeholders in structured dialogue, successfully providing data to international organizations and maintaining momentum even when official talks collapse.
• Unite Cyprus Now (UCN) is a decentralized, social-media-driven grassroots movement that emerged spontaneously to pressure political leaders for a solution, though it suffered a loss of momentum following the collapse of the Crans Montana conference.
• Inter-communal contact in Cyprus is often limited to those already pro-reconciliation, and increased movement across checkpoints does not necessarily translate to a broader public shift toward peace or a shared vision for a settlement.
• Political party loyalties and official national narratives create significant barriers to grassroots mobilization, often leading individuals to side with their respective political leaderships rather than supporting peace talks.
• There is a critical disconnect between official Track I negotiations and civil society (Track II/1.5), with the formal process remaining non-transparent and largely ignoring the input of grassroots organizations.

APA

Tziarras, Z. (2018). Pre-Conditions for Peace. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ac1f6f4e-334f-4bb5-9011-a6d0c3b27087/Pre-Conditions for Peace Report-V5.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Tziarras, Zenonas. Pre-Conditions for Peace. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2018. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ac1f6f4e-334f-4bb5-9011-a6d0c3b27087/Pre-Conditions for Peace Report-V5.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tziarras |first1=Zenonas |title=Pre-Conditions for Peace |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=2018 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ac1f6f4e-334f-4bb5-9011-a6d0c3b27087/Pre-Conditions for Peace Report-V5.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tziarras2018preconditions, author = {Tziarras, Zenonas}, title = {{Pre-Conditions for Peace}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2018}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ac1f6f4e-334f-4bb5-9011-a6d0c3b27087/Pre-Conditions for Peace Report-V5.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }