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Cyprus and the European Union

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Paul Rowan
Branford Public Schools

Stephen Armstrong
Manchester Public Schools and
Central Connecticut State University

V. Lesson Plan
The Potential Unification of Cyprus and the Entry of Cyprus into the European Union

Objectives:

Format:
Students will take part in a classroom debate on whether or not the political division between a Turkish section of Cyprus and a Greek section of Cyprus should continue, and whether or not the entry of Cyprus into the European Union is beneficial or not. After the debate, students should write individual essays analyzing the issues concerning Cyprus.

All secondary and primary source information needed for this exercise (including primary source documents) can be seen in the section on additional resources.

This simulation can be run anywhere from two to six days.

Organization:
As in any historical simulation, students will be asked to take roles. The following are desired for this simulation (numbers in your class will obviously determine the number of students assigned to each role). You will need:

1) A moderator
2) Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus (the Greek section of Cyprus)
3) Representatives from the Turkish section of Cyprus favoring unification with the Greek section
4) Representatives from the Turkish section of Cyprus NOT favoring unification with the Greek section (the official policy of the government there)
5) Representatives of Greece
6) Representatives of the Turkish government favoring the unification of Cyprus
7) Representatives of the Turkish military not favoring the unification of Cyprus
8) Representatives of the United Nations
9) Representatives of the United States
10) Newspaper reporters (who will analyze the arguments presented and present their opinions of who presented the most well-reasoned arguments in the debate)

Research:
Representatives from all countries and organizations should gather research to discover and support the position of their government or organization concerning: 1) the unification of Cyprus and 2) the benefits of Cyprus joining the EU.

PRIMARY SOURCES DOCUMENTS ARE AVAILABLE AT SEVERAL OF THE SITES LISTED IN ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: STUDENTS SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO USE THEM.

Additional resources not listed can also obviously be used. During this period: moderator and newspaper reporters should do general research on the situation in Cyprus

Doing the Simulation:
Arrange the room in a formal debate setting: each delegation should have their own table, hopefully with something in front of each table describing what country or organization their delegation represents. Encourage students to "dress up", and to conduct the debate in a totally "proper" manner. The moderator should be completely procedure with the debate procedure you want to use.

Give each delegation five to seven minutes to present their position. After that, allow up to ten minutes for other delegations to question the delegation who "has the floor". The moderator should insure that all questions be respectful and that a civil tone be maintained. Again, the two questions being debated are: 1) should Cyprus be reunified (and in what manner) and 2) what are the benefits of Cyprus joining the EU (and also should ALL of Cyprus be part of this).

HAVE STUDENTS REFER TO OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS AND OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT POSITIONS WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

When the "debate" part is completed, allow the "newspaper reporters" (who should be fairly astute students) to analyze the debate, stating what they thought the strongest arguments were, and perhaps their opinions on who actually "won the debate".

This debate activity may take several days, depending on the number of groups and students in your class. In advanced classes, the amount of time for delegation statements and questions may be lengthened.

Evaluation Essay:
After the debate is complete, have students write, on an individual basis, an essay in which they completely analyzing the situation in Cyprus as regards to unification of the island and the entry of Cyprus into the EU. This should not be done from the perspective of the country or organization that they just represented in the simulation, but should be written in a manner that forces the students to consider all of the arguments concerning the issue. Obviously, the length of the essay and its sophistication will widely vary, depending on the class.

Grading:
Students should be graded on: 1) their performance in the simulation activity (performance rubrics are widely available) and 2) their final analytical essays.