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This book presents a comprehensive series of readings that trace the Greeks' path to democracy and examine the connection between the Greek polis as a citizen state and democracy from a comparative historical perspective.
Focusing on the formative 1974-1981 years, the central theme of this book is the building of democracy in contemporary Greece and the role played in it by the newly-emergent political parties. Although all main parties are examined according to their importance, attention is chiefly given to conservative New Democracy which, led for the greatest part by charismatic Karamanlis, held office during these years of democratic transition. This study also offers a systematic analysis of today's political system in Greece, its strengths and deficiencies, and its prospects for the future.
Even though ancient Greece is the birthplace of democracy, the history of modern Greece has been characterized by political instability and misfortune. In Modern Greek Democracy, George S. Kaloudis documents the many forms of dictatorship and democracy that Greece has witnessed since its war for independence against the Ottomans. He begins his study with a discussion of the factors that have contributed to Greece's political instability since the early 19th century. After examining the military dictatorship of 1967-1974 that was a critical transitional period in modern Greek politics, Kaloudis considers international and domestic changes since 1974 that have contributed to the consolidation of democracy. Comprehensive in scope, this study will be of value to scholars of Greek history as well as those seeking to understand the current political struggles and independence movements in Eastern Europe.
When does democracy work well, and why? Is democracy the best form of government? These questions are of supreme importance today as the United States seeks to promote its democratic values abroad. Democracy and Knowledge is the first book to look to ancient Athens to explain how and why directly democratic government by the people produces wealth, power, and security. Combining a history of Athens with contemporary theories of collective action and rational choice developed by economists and political scientists, Josiah Ober examines Athenian democracy's unique contribution to the ancient Greek city-state's remarkable success, and demonstrates the valuable lessons Athenian political practices hold for us today. He argues that the key to Athens's success lay in how the city-state managed and organized the aggregation and distribution of knowledge among its citizens. Ober explores the institutional contexts of democratic knowledge management, including the use of social networks for collecting information, publicity for building common knowledge, and open access for lowering transaction costs. He explains why a government's attempt to dam the flow of information makes democracy stumble. Democratic participation and deliberation consume state resources and social energy. Yet as Ober shows, the benefits of a well-designed democracy far outweigh its costs. Understanding how democracy can lead to prosperity and security is among the most pressing political challenges of modern times. Democracy and Knowledge reveals how ancient Greek politics can help us transcend the democratic dilemmas that confront the world today.
During the dictatorship of the Colonels in Greece, there was an attempt at self-transformation into some form of civilian rule in 1973: the so-called 'Markezinis experiment', named after the politician who assumed the task of heading the transition government and lead to elections. It lasted a mere eight weeks, faced heavy opposition from both the opposition elites and the civil society and eventually collapsed by a military hard-liners' coup. This book argues that the failure of the 'Markezinis experiment' paved the way for the actual transition of 1974 as it happened. Using British and American archival resources, as well as unique private archives and personal interviews, the book concludes by briefly seeking to trace some potential alternative paths for the failed self- transformation attempt, and by accounting for the long-term consequences of the failure of the 'Markezinis experiment'.
The so-called Colonels&’ coup of April 21, 1967, was a major event in the history of the Cold War, ushering in a seven-year period of military rule in Greece. In the wake of the coup, some eight thousand people affiliated with the Communist Party were rounded up, and Greece became yet another country where the fear of Communism led the United States into alliance with a repressive right-wing authoritarian regime. In military coups in some other countries, it is known that the CIA and other agencies of the U.S. government played an active role in encouraging and facilitating the takeover. The Colonels&’ coup, however, came as a surprise to the United States (which was expecting a Generals&’ coup instead). Yet the U.S. government accepted it after the fact, despite internal disputes within policymaking circles about the wisdom of accommodating the upstart Papadopoulos regime. Among the dissenters was Robert Keeley, then serving in the U.S. Embassy in Greece. This is his insider&’s account of how U.S. policy was formulated, debated, and implemented during the critical years 1966 to 1969 in Greek-U.S. relations.