For the first time, Britain and the United States in Greece provides an in-depth analysis of Anglo-American diplomacy in Greece from 1946 to 1950. After Word War II, as Europe floundered economically, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee looked to disengage Britain from some of its broad international obligations and increase American support for its new foreign agenda. One place he sought to do so was in Greece. Spero Simeon Z. Paravantes reveals how the relationship between Britain and the US developed in this formative period, arguing that Britain used the fast-escalating tensions of the Cold War to direct US policy in Greece and encourage the Americans to take a more active role – effectively taking Britain's place – in the region. In the process, Paravantes sheds new light on how the American experience in Greece contributed to the formulation of the Truman Doctrine and the containment of communism, the structure of Greek institutions, and ultimately, the birth of the Cold War. Drawing on a wide range of sources from Britain, the US, Greece and the Balkans, this book is essential reading for all scholars looking to gain fresh insight into the complex origins of the Cold War, 20th-century Anglo-American relations, and the history of modern Greece.

In 1945, the modern country and people of Greece were unknown to many Britons. This book explores the transformation and varying fortunes of Anglo-Greek relations since that time. The focus is on the perceptions and attitudes shown by British and Greek writers, audiences, and organisations. Greece and Britain Since 1945 contains chapters from leading academics, journalists, novelists, and public servants and covers subjects including literature by Greek writers in English translation; the work of the British Council and international aid agencies; and television series set in Greece. The second edition has been substantially updated to reflect the financial, economic and social effects of the recent “Greek Crisis”. Four specially-commissioned new chapters discuss how Greece has been portrayed in the British media and the responses of cultural organisations to the present needs of the Greek people.

The British Council and Anglo-Giwk Literary Interactions, 1945-1955, In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, and with British political influence over Greece soon to be ceded to the United States, there was a considerable degree of cultural interaction between Greek and British literati. Sponsored or assisted by the British Council, this interaction was notable for its diversity and quality alike. Indeed, the British Council in Greece made a more significant contribution to local culture in that period than at any other time, and perhaps in any other country. Many of the participants - among them Patrick Leigh Fermor, Steven Runciman, and Louis MacNeice - are well known, while others deserve to be better know n than they are today. But what has been less fully discussed, and what the volume sets out to do, is to explore the two-way relations between Greek and British literary production in which the British Council played a particularly important role until the outbreak of armed conflict in Cyprus in 1955, which rendered further contacts of this kind difficult. Close attention is paid to the variety of ways - marked by personal affinities and allegiances, but also by political tensions - in which the British Council functional an agent of interaction in a climate where a complex blend of traditional Anglophilia or Philhellenism found itself encountering a new post-war and Cold War environment. What is distinctive about the volume, beyond the inclusion of much recent archival research, is its attention to the British Council as part of the story of Greek letters, and not just as a place in which various British men and women of letter worked. The British Council found itself, sometimes more through improvisation and personal affinities than through careful planning, at the heart of some key developments, notably in terms of important periodical publications which had a lasting influence on Greek letters. Though in the cultural forum that influence was arguably to be less pervasive than that of France, with its more ambitious cultural outreach, or than that of the USA in later decades, the role of the British Council in Greece in this crucial period of Greek (and indeed European) post-war history continues to make a rich case study in cultural politics. This volume thus fills a gap in the bibliography on Anglo-Greek relations and contributes to a wider scholarly and public discussion about cultural politics. Book jacket.

The book draws extensively on research on modern Greece in recent decades, and on the many perceptive commentaries on recent events in the Greek press. It adopts both an analytical and chronological approach and shows how Greece has both converged with western Europe and remained distinctively Balkan. David Close writes clearly and forcefully, and presents a lively picture of the Greek political system, economic development, social changes and foreign relations. Aimed at readers coming to the subject for the first time, this is a readable and informative introduction to contemporary Greece.

In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, and with British political influence over Greece soon to be ceded to the United States, there was a considerable degree of cultural interaction between Greek and British literati. Sponsored or assisted by the British Council, this interaction was notable for its diversity and quality alike. Indeed, the British Council in Greece made a more significant contribution to local culture in that period than at any other time, and perhaps in any other country. Many of the participants – among them Patrick Leigh Fermor, Steven Runciman, and Louis MacNeice – are well known, while others deserve to be better known than they are today. But what has been less fully discussed, and what the volume sets out to do, is to explore the two-way relations between Greek and British literary production in which the British Council played a particularly important role until the outbreak of armed conflict in Cyprus in 1955, which rendered further contacts of this kind difficult. Close attention is paid to the variety of ways – marked by personal affinities and allegiances, but also by political tensions – in which the British Council functioned as an agent of interaction in a climate where a complex blend of traditional Anglophilia or Philhellenism found itself encountering a new post-war and Cold War environment. What is distinctive about the volume, beyond the inclusion of much recent archival research, is its attention to the British Council as part of the story of Greek letters, and not just as a place in which various British men and women of letters worked. The British Council found itself, sometimes more through improvisation and personal affinities than through careful planning, at the heart of some key developments, notably in terms of important periodical publications which had a lasting influence on Greek letters. Though in the cultural forum that influence was arguably to be less pervasive than that of France, with its more ambitious cultural outreach, or than that of the USA in later decades, the role of the British Council in Greece in this crucial period of Greek (and indeed European) post-war history continues to make a rich case study in cultural politics. This volume thus fills a gap in the rich bibliography on Anglo-Greek relations and contributes to a wider scholarly and public discussion about cultural politics.

In December 1944, following the withdrawal of the German occupation troops, Athens became the scence of bitter fighting between the British-sponsored government of George Papandreaou and the Greek Left. This upheaal and its suppression set the stage for the full-scale civil war of 1946-1949 and for much that has plagued that troubled nation ever since. John O. Iatrides examines the immediate causes of the "Second Round," as this tragedy came to be called, and analyzes the Allies' reactions to it. His conclusions are new and important. The real causes are to be found in the economic, social, political, and psychological exhaustion of Greece, inherited from the past and aggravated by the war and occupation. Traditionally this crisis has been regarded as a reckless bid by the Greek Communist Party to seize power and join Moscow's clients in the Balkans. This view served as a principal theme of the Truman Doctrine and a powerful stimulus for the Cold War. It is now clear that the Soviet Union chose to remain uninvolved. Knowing this, Churchill intervened in a highhanded attempt to restore the unwanted monarchy and suppress the entire republican Left, despite American disapproval of his actions. Originally published in 1972. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This work examines the background to Greek nationalist politics and its effects on public opinion towards international events and territorial claims, from the end of the Second World War to the collapse of constitutional rule in 1967. It explains how intermittent public mobilisation on various foreign policy issues created a political culture that combined elements of nationalism, religion, race and stereotypes about the national Self and the Other. The book challenges widely-held assumptions that Greek irredentism was all but dead and buried in the aftermath of the Asia Minor catastrophe of 1922, and that anti-Americanism was the product of US support for the Colonels' regime of 1967-74 and its condoning of the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus. It begins with an examination of the revival of irredentism in connection with Greek national claims after 1945 and the two campaigns for the union of Cyprus with Greece during the 1950s and 1960s. The second part of the study reveals anti-Americanism to be largely the result of failed post-war Greek territorial ambitions - particularly the frustration of the Enosis claim - rather than the actual intervention of the United States in Greek affairs. Drawing on a huge variety of sources including the Greek press, records of the Greek Parliament, the US and British National Archives, as well the archives of numerous individuals, this book provides a fascinating account of Greek political culture and national self image at a crucial time in the country's political development.

A new understanding of the post World War II era, showing what occurred when the British Empire wouldn’t step aside for the rising American superpower—with global insights for today. An enduring myth of the twentieth century is that the United States rapidly became a superpower in the years after World War II, when the British Empire—the greatest in history—was too wounded to maintain a global presence. In fact, Derek Leebaert argues in Grand Improvisation, the idea that a traditionally insular United States suddenly transformed itself into the leader of the free world is illusory, as is the notion that the British colossus was compelled to retreat. The United States and the U.K. had a dozen abrasive years until Washington issued a “declaration of independence” from British influence. Only then did America explicitly assume leadership of the world order just taking shape. Leebaert’s character-driven narrative shows such figures as Churchill, Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennan in an entirely new light, while unveiling players of at least equal weight on pivotal events. Little unfolded as historians believe: the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan; the Korean War; America’s descent into Vietnam. Instead, we see nonstop U.S. improvisation until America finally lost all caution and embraced obligations worldwide, a burden we bear today. Understanding all of this properly is vital to understanding the rise and fall of superpowers, why we’re now skeptical of commitments overseas, how the Middle East plunged into disorder, why Europe is fracturing, what China intends—and the ongoing perils to the U.S. world role.

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize • Winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award • One of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year “Impressive . . . Mr. Judt writes with enormous authority.” —The Wall Street Journal “Magisterial . . . It is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive, authoritative, and yes, readable postwar history.” —The Boston Globe Almost a decade in the making, this much-anticipated grand history of postwar Europe from one of the world's most esteemed historians and intellectuals is a singular achievement. Postwar is the first modern history that covers all of Europe, both east and west, drawing on research in six languages to sweep readers through thirty-four nations and sixty years of political and cultural change-all in one integrated, enthralling narrative. Both intellectually ambitious and compelling to read, thrilling in its scope and delightful in its small details, Postwar is a rare joy. Judt's book, Ill Fares the Land, republished in 2021 featuring a new preface by bestselling author of Between the World and Me and The Water Dancer, Ta-Nehisi Coates.

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.