Paper short abstract:

This paper explores attempts to draw on the heritage of 'rooted cosmopolitanism' in efforts to re-establish relationships of mutuality on the divided island of Cyprus.

Paper long abstract:

The traditions of cosmopolitanism and everyday mutuality for which the Mediterranean is known are part of the living memory of many of its inhabitants, but the conditions, institutions and spaces for its continued survival as practice have been severely attenuated by nationalism, conflicts, and the re-drawing of boundaries during the 20th century. This paper explores attempts to draw on the heritage of 'rooted cosmopolitanism' in efforts to re-establish relationships of mutuality on the divided island of Cyprus. Focusing on the ethnography of a recent community tourism development project, the paper explores the reasons for the failure of the project to achieve its political aims, and considers the implications of this experience for understanding the relationship between 'Politics' and 'civil society'.