Strategically located at the hub of three continents, the island of Cyprus has been a bone of contention between Greek and Turkish nationalists, and consequently between US, British and UN policy-makers. The Cyprus question remains one of the most enduring and intractable problems in contemporary international politics. This work sketches its post-war origins, from the first drive towards internationalization to the outbreak of armed struggle against the British colonial regime, and sets out to show how the potential for a peaceful resolution of the conflict was repeatedly and fatefully squandered. Detailing the central role of the nationalist Enosis movement, of the UN, and of insidious factionalism in the area, the book offers insights into modern Cypriot history through the use of US, British and Greek records, and seeks to identify the various forces, competing interests and partisan pressures that helped to shape the Cyprus problem.