Old and new policies in dialogue: Greek–Cypriot teachers' interpretations of a peace‐related initiative through existing policy discourses

Abstract

This paper looks at teachers' interpretations of a recent and controversial Greek–Cypriot policy initiative, which aimed to promote ‘peaceful coexistence’ between the two rival communities in conflict‐ridden Cyprus. Specifically, it focuses on the ways in which Greek–Cypriot teachers constructed the relation between the new policy for peaceful coexistence between Greek‐Cypriots and Turkish‐Cypriots with the long established but rather conflicting policy of ‘I don't forget and I struggle’. The study analyses a set of 40 interviews conducted a few months after the first introduction of the new policy and maps teachers’ interpretations using the analytical concept of interpretative repertoires. Despite the poor implementation of the new initiative in practice, the study argues that the introduction of the new policy has brought about discernible discursive shifts in some teachers’ perceptions of the older policy of ‘I don't forget’.