Warriors And Politicians In Modern Greece

A look at the shift in the economic model of ancient Greece at the brink between what we consider to be the "dark ages" and the "golden age." The newly emerged economic elite of this period introduced or reemphasized a variety of "tools of exclusion."

This clear, balanced book explores the dilemma of Greece, the font of European civilization. Despite its classical past and EU membership, Greece has been unable to escape the limbo of being nearly developed. Illuminating the impact of borrowed western institutions on Greeces traditional culture, the authors analyze the paralyzing consequences: a political process dependent on personal relations and a civil society dominated by a highly centralized bureaucracy. State dominance, Legg and Roberts argue, has turned politics primarily into a struggle for office. This emphasis on political conflict has allowed politicians and their supporters to employ emotional nationalist rhetoric to flout democratic rules and to avoid genuine issues. Concluding that the Greek political systems nature precludes real reform, the authors show how EU opportunities for both economic and political reform have been largely lost. Unfortunately, the aspects of Greeces nearly developed status are mirrored in eastern European states with similar pasts. Indeed, the authors warn that the Greece of today may be the future of many of its neighbors. }This clear, balanced book explores the dilemma of Greece, the font of European civilization. Despite its classical past and EU membership, Greece has been unable to escape the limbo of being nearly developed. Illuminating the impact of borrowed western institutions on Greeces traditional culture, the authors analyze the paralyzing consequences: a political process dependent on personal relations and a civil society dominated by a highly centralized bureaucracy. State dominance, Legg and Roberts argue, has turned politics primarily into a struggle for office. This emphasis on political conflict has allowed politicians and their supporters to employ emotional nationalist rhetoric to flout democratic rules and to avoid genuine issues. Concluding that the Greek political systems nature precludes real reform, the authors show how EU opportunities for both economic and political reform have been largely lost. Unfortunately, the aspects of Greeces nearly developed status are mirrored in eastern European states with similar pasts. Indeed, the authors warn that the Greece of today may be the future of many of its neighbors.

Greece is a ancient land, blessed with a stunning natural beauty and an inspiring cultural heritage but burdened with history and conflict, it shares many traits and comparable trajectories with its neighbors and countries of a similar background. Modern Greece is a successor nation-state of the Ottoman Empire, created in the early 19th century through the interplay of an evolving Greek national idea, the crisis of the Ottoman state, and the intervention of great powers. Historical Dictionary of Modern Greece, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 200 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Greece.

Focusing on one of the most dramatic and controversial periods in modern Greek history and in the history of the Cold War, James Edward Miller provides the first study to employ a wide range of international archives--American, Greek, English, and French--together with foreign language publications to shed light on the role the United States played in Greece between the termination of its civil war in 1949 and Turkey's 1974 invasion of Cyprus. Miller demonstrates how U.S. officials sought, over a period of twenty-five years, to cultivate Greece as a strategic Cold War ally in order to check the spread of Soviet influence. The United States supported Greece's government through large-scale military aid, major investment of capital, and intermittent efforts to reform the political system. Miller examines the ways in which American and Greek officials cooperated in--and struggled over--the political future and the modernization of the country. Throughout, he evaluates the actions of the key figures involved, from George Papandreou and his son Andreas, to King Constantine, and from John Foster Dulles and Dwight D. Eisenhower to Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger. Miller's engaging study offers a nuanced and well-balanced assessment of events that still influence Mediterranean politics today.

Political Change in Greece (1987) surveys the state of politics in Greece as it joined the EEC, experienced a socialist government, and faced changes in its relations within NATO. It provides historical background explaining the changes in regimes since the Second World War, and looks at different elements in Greek politics – processes, parties, interest groups and key policy areas – outlining for each recent development the likely future state of affairs.

Examines military interventions in Greece, Turkey, Thailand, and Egypt, and the military's role in authoritarian and democratic regimes

This book seeks to comprehensively analyze and document U.S. foreign policy toward a strategic Cold War ally that posed a stark challenge to the traditionally-stated U.S. preference for democracy and political freedom. It details the complex ways in which the U.S. reacted to that challenge and went about crafting policies of longer-term accommodation with a regime it wished to retain as a close ally in a strategically important part of the world.