Kissinger and the Invasion of Cyprus

"In his illuminating book Kissinger and the Invasion of Cyprus, William Mallinson employs his background as an academic, historian and former diplomat to produce the latest informative piece of academic work on Kissinger. He decomposes with great care the fictional Henry Kissinger and offers us the information and evidence we need to make up our minds as to the true Kissinger. Though Mallinson refers to what others had said about Kissinger, he relies heavily on evidence, documentation and archival material to make his point. As such, he writes as a true historian using primary material that he painstakingly collected to help us understand Kissinger. Mallinson makes us think whether Kissinger is an insatiable and ruthless egomaniac in search for attention or a man of conscience."Aris PetasisVice-President, International Trustee Fund of the Tsyolkovsky Moscow State Aviation Technological UniversityJournal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, published online 30.05.2017"With a wealth of diplomatic experience and scholarly depth, William Mallinson offers readers a fascinating account of Henry Kissinger’s neglected and typically unscrupulous role in shaping a pro-Turkish geopolitical outcome to the Cyprus conflict that reached crisis levels back in 1974."Richard FalkProfessor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton University"William Mallinson does a great job by combining a thorough analysis of one of the most influential and controversial figures in international relations during the Cold War era with masterful research of the geopolitical turmoil in the Eastern Mediterranean. Through the lens of battling interests in one of the most politically and historically complicated regions in Europe, and even the world, Dr Mallinson goes deeper than just another sketch on the history of international relations; he digs into behavioural attitudes of grand strategists, making us wonder what are objective truths in global politics, how decisions are made and decision-makers are chosen, and whether any place is left for the conventional understanding of diplomacy."Pavel KanevskiyProfessor of Political Science; Associate Dean, Faculty of Sociology, Lomonosov Moscow State University"It will have to be read by all those interested in either Kissinger’s reputation or the details of how the Cyprus crisis of 1974 was resolved."Alan SkedEmeritus Professor of International History, London School of Economics and Political Science"William Mallinson has produced an excellently written and documented book that provides us with never-before-published information on the intricacies concerning the Cyprus question, particularly during the period before, during and after the invasion of the island by Turkey in 1974. The role of the UK and of the USA on Cyprus is well defined and the manipulation of historical facts by Henry Kissinger is proven by juxtaposing official documents with Kissinger’s writings and explanations. Mallinson’s book is an important contribution to the history of that period, but is also relevant to understanding today’s decision-making processes in international relations."Leonidas ChrysanthopoulosAmbassador of Greece ad honorem"Nothing and nobody can escape Mallinson's courageous and detailed research on the Eastern Mediterranean. He tears away the politically correct agenda surrounding Cyprus and Kissinger. The book is a marvellous indictment of Kissinger's cheerleaders and their humbug on Cyprus. I should tell them: read it, if you dare!"Professor Vassilis K. FouskasUniversity of East London; Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies"At a time when talks on the Cyprus issue have recommenced, and the Eastern Mediterranean is once again at the epicentre of turmoil, William Mallinson’s “Kissinger and the Invasion of Cyprus” is a stimulating contribution to the discussion on the region. [...] Mallinson ... paints as detailed a picture as possible of the climate, the plots and the machinations before and after the invasions. And one of the book’s main attractions lies in the author’s ability to weave together the politics of the Kissinger era with today’s Cyprus question."Charalampos Tsitsopoulosindependentturkey.org, 30.04.2017“In his latest book, William Mallinson employs a well-known method of his – the analysis of material from diplomatic archives that is – to sketch out the portrait of Henry Kissinger in light of the latter’s involvement and role in the 1974 Cyprus invasion. The author makes use of archival sources as well as Kissinger’s own writings to point out the statesman’s reasoning behind decisions on specific course of action, aiming at “understanding his behaviour vis-à-vis his alleged acts against humanity, since the case of Cyprus serves as an accurate microcosm of, and pointer to, his behavior in other world fora” (p. xxiv). […] This book is not a mere ‘yet another’ addition in existing literature about Kissinger and Cyprus. It moves well beyond the examination and assessment of the main actors and facts in a historical context. William Mallinson, a connoisseur of the contemporary history of Cyprus and industrious researcher of the relevant diplomatic archives, manages to flip the coin and present us with a look on well-known historical facts from a different viewpoint. This is a piece of work which, placing Kissinger himself (rather than Cyprus) at the epicentre of the analysis, focuses on explaining how Kissinger’s idiosyncratic personality is the key to interpreting (his) decisions and policy choices concerning Cyprus and beyond. In this context, this book offers a wider understanding of US foreign policy with Kissinger at the helm and, in light of this, the turn of events in world affairs and, in particular, the ‘how and why’ therein. […] Apart from the use of original archival sources, the author also makes use of, and provides the reader with, a long list of relevant bibliographic works, including Henry Kissinger’s own writings. In this respect, the book can be a useful tool for postgraduate students of politics, international relations and (diplomatic) history, as well as researchers and academics. At the same time, it makes an enlightening and thought-provoking read for practitioners and all those with a special interest in the topic. […] Precisely the fact that this book is not intended to cater exclusively for the needs of academic research is one of its advantages. By the same token, the author makes sure that the amount of information included regarding the historical background is fairly balanced. This way, the book is suitable both for a reader with basic as well as one of more advanced/specialised knowledge on the topic at hand. The individual chapters are well-structured and the reader is neatly led through the author’s argumentation, which is built in a coherent manner. The index provided at the very end is another advantage of the book and can be particularly useful for research purposes. All in all, this book presents a fresh look on and fills a gap in existing literature on the topic; certainly a worthwhile addition to one’s bookshelf.”Anna KarafoulidouThe Cyprus Review, Vol. 31(2)