cyprus AN EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO CONFLICT RESOLUTION: BACKGROUND TO THE CYPRUS CONFLICT4 THE FAILURE OF PAST NEGOTIATIONS PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS AND ANALYSIS AN EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS WITH LEARNING AND FLEXIBILITY PROPOSED EVOLUTIONARY SOLUTION TO THE CYPRUS PROBLEM CONCLUDING REMARKS REFERENCES

This article presents an evolutionary cooperative approach to conflict resolution that would lower the fears and raise the hopes of parties in conflict by proceeding incrementally in phases that would allow interaction and reciprocity, learning, and flexibility (through options to expand or abandon cooperation/integration). With reference to the Cyprus conflict, although initially maintaining two separate decentralized zones, the simultaneous creation of a third, joint federated area to serve as the nucleus of a cooperative, interactive, centralized federation is proposed. A "conciliation stage" should precede a federated stucture "testing" phase, before expanding and ratifying full-scale implementation contingent on successful interim cohabitation.