Cypr – wyspa wielokrotnie podzielona granicami politycznymi
Cyprus: An Island Divided Many Times by Political Borders

Summary/Abstract: The article analyses the transformations of political divisions of the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea – Cyprus (with an area of only 9285 km2). In almost all historical periods, the island’s political unity was rare, and its territorial divisions are almost the norm. One can also observe the deepening process of territorial diversifi cation of Cyprus, which, paradoxically, has reached its apogee nowadays. Currently, it is possible to distinguish as many as 17 separate territorial fragments with different international status on the island. In Cyprus, there are currently two states and two colonial territories (Great Britain) and an internationalised area, as well as one territory with unknown status (Varoşa). No political unit in Cyprus has territorial continuity. One of these countries is a full member of the European Union and so the other territories are therefore in special relations with this organisation. The process of the political and territorial unification of the island, which has been going on for several decades, is suspended in practice and the hopes that are stirred up every few years that it will reach the final this time always turn out to be premature.

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