Britain and the Greek Colonels

Britain and the Greek Colonels
Author: Alexandros Nafpliotis
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2020-04-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1350161047

At the apex of international Cold War tension, an alliance of Greek military leaders seized power in Athens. Seven years of violent political repression followed in Greece, yet as Cold War allies, the Greek colonels had continued international support- especially from Britain. Why did successive governments, those of Harold Wilson and Edward Heath, choose to pursue an alliance with these military dictators? Alexandros Nafpliotis' book examines British foreign policy towards Greece, exposing a guiding principle of pragmatism above all else. This is the first systematic study of Britain and the Greek military Junta of the early 1970s to be based on newly released National Archive documents, US and Greek sources and personal interviews with leading actors. Comparing and contrasting the attitudes of both Labour and Conservative governments towards the Junta in Greece, Nafpliotis outlines a great degree of continuity, as well as showing where and how moral and public relations issues were overcome in order to facilitate a close relationship with the colonels. 'Britain and the Greek Colonels' is a comprehensive history of international diplomacy and realpolitik in the Cold War period and will be essential reading for students and scholars of Cold War history, the history of modern Greece and International Relations.

The Colonels' Coup and the American Embassy

The Colonels' Coup and the American Embassy
Author: Robert V. Keeley
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2016-04-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 027105011X

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.

Britain, Greece and the Colonels, 1967-74

Britain, Greece and the Colonels, 1967-74
Author: Konstantina Maragkou
Publisher: Hurst & Company
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2020-01-16
Genre: Great Britain
ISBN: 1849043655

The long history of Anglo-Greek relations has deservedly attracted much attention. One of its most controversial -- yet least explored -- phases was that spanning the Greek Colonels' seven-year military junta, from 1967-74. Drawing on a corpus of diverse, original and largely primary material, Maragkou provides the first comprehensive analysis of British policy towards Greece during this tumultuous era. Not only does she contribute to the historiography of Anglo- Greek relations, but her book also serves as a case study of British foreign policy within the Cold War. And by demonstrating that national history can be best understood by analyzing the relationship between a nation state and factors beyond its control, the conclusions drawn can be applied beyond the strictly regional or the exclusively bi-lateral, as they also fit into a transnational paradigm. It was in the 1960s when what we now term 'globalization' was in full swing. Henceforward, no nation -- and no foreign office -- was an island: it was part of a whole, in which both state and non-state actors internationally played their part in the evolution of thinking on foreign affairs. Here is the key to understanding the tortuous history of Britain and the Greek Colonels -- one that has many echoes in our own time.

Britain and the Greek Colonels

Britain and the Greek Colonels
Author: Alexandros Nafpliotis
Publisher:
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2012
Genre: Great Britain
ISBN: 9780755625833

"At the apex of international Cold War tension, an alliance of Greek military leaders seized power in Athens. Seven years of violent political repression followed in Greece, yet as Cold War allies, the Greek colonels had continued international support- especially from Britain. Why did successive governments, those of Harold Wilson and Edward Heath, choose to pursue an alliance with these military dictators? Alexandros Nafpliotis' book examines British foreign policy towards Greece, exposing a guiding principle of pragmatism above all else. This is the first systematic study of Britain and the Greek military Junta of the early 1970s to be based on newly released National Archive documents, US and Greek sources and personal interviews with leading actors. Comparing and contrasting the attitudes of both Labour and Conservative governments towards the Junta in Greece, Nafpliotis outlines a great degree of continuity, as well as showing where and how moral and public relations issues were overcome in order to facilitate a close relationship with the colonels. 'Britain and the Greek Colonels' is a comprehensive history of international diplomacy and realpolitik in the Cold War period and will be essential reading for students and scholars of Cold War history, the history of modern Greece and International Relations."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

That Greece Might Still be Free

That Greece Might Still be Free
Author: William St. Clair
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN: 1906924007

When in 1821, the Greeks rose in violent revolution against the rule of the Ottoman Turks, waves of sympathy spread across Western Europe and the United States. More than a thousand volunteers set out to fight for the cause. The Philhellenes, whether they set out to recreate the Athens of Pericles, start a new crusade, or make money out of a war, all felt that Greece had unique claim on the sympathy of the world. As Byron wrote, 'I dreamed that Greece might Still be Free'; and he died at Missolonghi trying to translate that dream into reality. William St Clair's meticulously researched and highly readable account of their aspirations and experiences was hailed as definitive when it was first published. Long out of print, it remains the standard account of the Philhellenic movement and essential reading for any students of the Greek War of Independence, Byron, and European Romanticism. Its relevance to more modern ethnic and religious conflicts is becoming increasingly appreciated by scholars worldwide. This new and revised edition includes a new Introduction by Roderick Beaton, an updated Bibliography and many new illustrations.

The Kapetanios

The Kapetanios
Author: Dominique Eudes
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 403
Release: 1973
Genre: History
ISBN: 085345275X

The complicated and dramatic course of the Civil War in Greece had, for lack of parties interested in reconstructing the truth of its events, never been narrated prior to the appearance of this volume. It closed a gap in the history of our times, and did so with thoroughness and vivid journalistic immediacy. In addition to the known sources and unpublished documents, the author relied on testimony painstakingly collected from survivors of the tragedy who were scattered throughout the world. It remains the authoritative account of the kapetanios, the guerrilla chiefs who organized the partisans in the Greek mountains.

American Foreign Policy Towards the Colonels' Greece

American Foreign Policy Towards the Colonels' Greece
Author: Neovi M. Karakatsanis
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2018-05-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1137523182

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.

Greece

Greece
Author: Giannēs Koliopoulos
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 446
Release: 2002-10-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780814747674

"...Meticulously researched...Thoroughly documented with copious footnotes, a shronology, and extensive bibliography, this work is recommended for academic libraries." —Library Journal Focusing on questions that seek to illuminate vital aspects of the Greek phenomenon, this modern history of Greece is organized around themes such as politics, institutions, society, ideology, foreign policy, geography, and culture. Making clear their predilection for the principles that inspired the founding fathers of the Greek state, Koliopoulos and Veremis juxtapose these principles to contemporary practices, and outline the resulting tensions in Greek society as it enters the new millenium. Challenging established notions and stereotypes that have disfigured Greek history, Greece: A Modern Sequel is meant to encourage a fresh look at the country and its people. In the process, a portrait of a new Greece emerges: modern, diverse, and strong.

British Miscalculations

British Miscalculations
Author: Isaiah Friedman
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
Total Pages: 395
Release: 2012-08-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1412847109

In the aftermath of World War I there was furious agitation throughout Islam against the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. Coupled with the powerful effect of the principle of self-determination, British indifference to Muslim sentiments gave rise to militant nationalism in Islam—which became de facto anti-Western. This detailed and convincing account describes British indecisiveness, policy contradictions, and how militant nationalism was aggravated by the Greek invasion of Smyrna and its ambition to create a Hellenic Empire in Anatolia with Britain’s connivance. Immediately after World War I there was a fair chance of mutual coexistence and good relations between Arabs and Jews in Palestine. This possibility was nipped in the bud by the military administration (1918-1920) responsible for the anti-Jewish riots in Jerusalem in April 1920. High Commissioner Herbert Samuel supported the Arab extremists in his misguided policy, and complicated the situation further. The appointment of Hajj Amin al-Husseini to the exalted post of Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, and subsequently to the presidency of the Supreme Moslem Council of the Palestinians, proved fatal to Arab-Jewish relations and to the possibility of peace. As Friedman shows, the British administration of Palestine bears a considerable share of responsibility for the Arab-Zionist conflict in Palestine. Against this diplomatic background Arab-Jewish hostilities thrived, with consequences that endure today.