The Citizenship for Investments of Cyprus, known as the Golden Passports scheme, has attracted billions to the island for many years, until in 2020 it was exposed by al-jazzira journalists and closed.
Despite its completion, the consequences continue to be discussed - and in society.
In the book “Island of Passports: the EU Biture Market in Cyprus” (Passport Island: The Market for EU Gratis in Cyprus (Manchester University Press, 2023)), Professor of Anthropology of the University of Oslo Rakopoulos offers a deep analysis of this phenomenon.
In the book “Island of Passports: the EU EU Rakopulos, the Rakopoulos shows that the Cypriot Golden Passports became a kind of export product, changing the appearance of the island and especially the city of Limassol, where skyscrapers on the embankment -“ passport towers ” - symbolized the presence of the world elite. The author convinces: these programs are not just an instrument of attracting capital, but a form of offshoring and continuing global inequality that allows the rich to create “hybrid spaces” outside traditional national borders.
The book is structured in five chapters uniting the history of Cyprus citizenship, ethnographic observations of the “creators” (lawyers, realtors, politicians) and “recipients” of passports, as well as an analysis of the global citizenship market. One of the key terms is Jus Pecuniae (“right to money”): belonging no longer depends on ethnic or territorial connections, it can be bought.
The special value of the book is in a combination of academic severity and documentary liveliness. Rakopoulos works both with numbers and theories, and with the stories of specific people, showing how citizenship programs become an arena of struggle between national sovereignty and global elites.
The “little” Cyprus also emphasizes in the work - its vulnerability, but also strategic significance. The island states, the author notes, play a special role in world politics: their small size turns into an asset that allows you to quickly integrate into international networks, but at the same time creating new dependencies.
Rakopoulos said that he prompted him to engage in the outline of this topic:
- What prompted you to study the program of “golden passports”?
- Honestly? Food! (laughs). If seriously, it is intellectual and political curiosity. The program covers a lot of topics: from belonging and nationalism to offshoring and global inequality.
- How did the program change the meaning of Cypriot citizenship?
- Cyprus citizenship has always been more likely "post -ethnic." But many Greek-Kirian leaders perceived their homeland as part of the "Greek world", so they did not feel that they were selling it. This is a conflict between ethnic and civilian nationalism.
- How did you collect material for the book?
- I spoke with the “creators” of the program: lawyers, realtors, accountants. Some were even shared by confidential details. I met with clients - "recipients." I was interested in not only their stories, but also their views on life.
- You use the term "eutopia." What does it mean?
- This is the hybrid EU and Utopia. For Russians or Chinese, the EU passport is almost utopia, which gives freedom of movement. For this, people paid millions.
- What contradictions did the program reveal?
- In Limassol, residents complained about “passport towers”, a high cost of housing, and a deterioration in ecology. But the program itself is only the top of the iceberg of offshore services that left a deep mark on the island.
- Do national states undermine such schemes or vice versa strengthen them?
- In my opinion, they rather strengthen. Programs of "citizenship for investments" are born at the junction of national differences and class inequality. This is a tool for the rich, which enhances the global class system.
- Was the program “necessary” after the crisis of 2013?
- If we consider the economy based on offshore and excessive construction, then yes. But in reality it is an “unstable model”, and the program only supported her illusion.
- What is the future of “golden passports” in the world?
- They will flourish. Capitalism penetrates deeper into life: from leisure to medicine. Why not turn into goods and citizenship?
You can buy the book Passport Island: The Market for Eu Gratis in Cyprus in Limassol in the bookstore K. P. Kyriakou at Panayides Building 3, Griva Digheni Ave.
Source: In-CyPrus.philenews.com
