Structural Reform and New Policy Agendas: Political and Social Responses to the Economic Adjustment Programme in Cyprus

This article will survey the political and social responses to the Economic Adjustment Programme (EAP) in Cyprus. We will examine the political responses to the EAP across the Cypriot political parties by focusing on the major normative claims made by the parties in parliament about the European Union and the associated perceptions of the treatment that Cyprus received in the aftermath of the crisis and the imposition of austerity measures. Through a review of the provisions of the Programme and the performance of each associated sector in the ensuing years, we will assess its effects on the Cypriot economy and the state, as well as their impact on society. More specifically, we will analyze the impact on national accounts, economic growth, wages, unemployment, poverty and various aspects of the existing state structure such as the welfare system. The article will compare policy agendas before and after the imposition of the EAP, especially in cases of long-standing policy approaches such as welfare state provisions and labour relations. Ultimately, the article will consider the long-term implications of these structural adjustments to the state apparatus and the associated policy transformations on the potential of the state to overcome the crisis, and the extent to which that the resulting state formation can formulate robust mechanisms that will prove resilient to future challenges to stability.