For centuries islands of the Mediterranean served as a cultural crossroads, with the Phoenicians, Romans, and Arabs variously settling and colonizing the area. Cyprus, Greece, and Malta in particular were subject to the influence of foreign powers, and remained so for much of their histories. Today, each has gained its independence and gone on to become an active member of the European Union. This lively volume examines the historical events that shaped these EU countries, as well as the cultural traditions of the diverse societies that call them home.

This book in the Pilgrim’s Guide series is a fascinating tour of five of the modern-day countries visited by those who wish to follow in the footsteps of the apostle Paul. All of the Pauline sites are covered. While each country is featured in its own chapter in order to follow the most likely itineraries of present-day travelers, the story of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, which led to his four missionary journeys, is covered in introductory sections. Like all the guides in this series, this is profusely illustrated in full color with over twenty-five photographs, and several maps and plans. It is an essential aid to prepare for a pilgrimage and a quality souvenir of many lasting memories.

This book analyses the processes and factors that contributed to the emergence and eventual consolidation of the Greek Cypriot Right in the era of British colonialism. It seeks to understand political developments in Cyprus in the period extending from 1900 to 1955 with regard to their social, ideological and economic determinants. By examining changing forms of political life, a general reconstitution of the political sphere and a specific set of changes in the ideology and organisation of the Greek Cypriots, the author offers a framework for analysing Greek Cypriot right-wing party politics, identifying its sources of mobilisation and main actors such as the Church of Cyprus, and understanding its subsequent transformations.

This 2008 Article IV Consultation highlights that Malta has experienced a three-year-long expansion reflecting strong foreign direct investment, export diversification, and value-added upgrading. Financial soundness indicators held up in 2007 despite unfavorable international developments. The banking sector’s liquidity and funding profile are healthy, and banks have remained profitable despite markdowns in security portfolios. Nonperforming loans fell further but are still comparatively high and thinly provisioned. The authorities are unbundling and opening to private participation the fuel and gas operations of the public energy company.

Economic conditions have stabilized, and the economy is projected to bottom out in 2010, giving way to a mild recovery in 2011 followed by stronger growth. The foremost policy challenge is to achieve the official fiscal consolidation targets so as to put debt ratios on a declining path and provide more space to guard against risks to the financial sector. Further old-age pension reform is also essential. Structural reforms are needed to preserve competitiveness and enhance medium-term growth. The government largely shared the IMF staff’s assessment.

This book explores the different perspectives and historical moments of nationalism in Cyprus. It does this by looking at nationalism as a form of identity, as a form of ideology, and as a form of politics. The fifteen contributors to this book are scholars of different scientific backgrounds and present Cypriot nationalisms from an interdisciplinary framework, including approaches such as history, political science, psychology, and gender studies. The chapters take a historical approach to nationalism and argue that the world of nations, ethnic identity, and national ideology are neither eternal, nor ahistorical nor primordial, but are rather socially constructed and function within particular historical and social contexts. As a land that was, and still is, marked by opposed nationalisms – that is, Greek and Turkish – Cyprus constitutes a fertile ground for examining the history, the dynamics, and the dialectics of nationalism.

The 2019 Edition of the Complete & Independent Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest is the 12th edition of this book and as usual it is packed with statistical details of every Contest since 1956 along with plenty of analysis, over 348 pages, our biggest edition ever. The book looks at the national qualification competitions for 2019 and has an in-depth section on the entire voting history of each country, along with dozens of facts and statistics on this year's Contest and historical trends, including jury/public differences, bloc voting and analysis of where best to perform in the running order.