The Military in Greek Politics
Thanos Vermis

In this landmark study, Thanos Veremis traces the evolution of Greece’s military institution up to the pivotal 1995 law redefining civil-military relations. Along the way, he opens up broader insights into Greek political life, from towering figures like Venizelos, Plastiras, Pangolos, and Metaxas to the politicized monarchy and its eventual collapse.

Drawing on a wealth of personal papers, state archives, diaries, and memoirs, Veremis offers the most comprehensive account to date of the army’s intervention in Greek politics—from the National Schism of 1916 to the junta of 1967. He vividly recounts the high-stakes battle for control between monarchs and elected leaders, a conflict that simmered through decades, exploded with the Metaxas dictatorship, and returned in the shadow of Cold War authoritarianism.

Thanos Veremis, currently the director of the Hellenic Foundation for the European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), is also a professor of political science at the University of Athens.

Table of Contents

1. The Formation of the Regular Army
2. The Selection and Education of Officers
3. The Military and 'Ethnic Truth'
4. The Impact of the First World War on Civil-Military Relations
5. Self-Images, Professionalism and Patronage in the Officer Corps (1897-1936)
6. The Sensitive Issue of the Army List
7. The Significance of the March 1935 Coup and the Forces Behind its Organisation
8. The War and Civil War Cauldron
9. The Post-War Legacy
10. The Colonels Unleashed
11. From Dictatorship to Democracy and After
12. Conclusions

1997; 227 pages

The Military in Greek Politics Retail Prices
Paperback:
9781551641041 $24.95
Hardcover:
9781551641058 $53.99