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ABSTRACT
In contrast to other European countries in which the eighties were characterized by the cultural dominance of the ‘New Right’, Greek politics was dominated by the rise of the Greek Socialist Party (PASOK). Unlikely to the West European Socialist or Social Democratic parties of the time, Greek idiosyncratic socialism was associated with a strong nationalistic and anti-Western, i.e. anti-NATO, anti-American and anti-European rhetoric. Another feature of this period was the change of Greece’s position regarding the Greek-Turkish dispute. Greek Socialist administration in 1981–1989 was associated with increasing tensions with Turkey. The present paper critically assesses Greek foreign and defence policy during this period by drawing on archival sources from various countries (documents of the State Archive of Israel, CIA archive, the Federal Archives of the Republic Germany (Political Archive of the Foreign Ministry, Archive of the Foreign Ministry of the Former East Germany and Archives of the Mass Organizations and the Political Parties of the Former East Germany) as well as military spending and arms imports registers to show the discrepancy between rhetoric and real changes implemented by the Greek Socialist Government during its first two consecutive terms in office.
Acknowlegment
The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their comments and remarks.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. Data drawn from SIPRI. http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php (authors’ calculations).
2. The corresponding NATO average was 5.1%.
3. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Papandreou and the Military. An Intelligence Assessment (Secret) April 1983.
4. Constant 2015 US dollars.
5. Legislation Act 660/1977 on National Ministry of Defence, Supreme Commander Posts and Control of Defence Army (Gazette A/218).
6. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Papandreou and the Military. An Intelligence Assessment (Secret) April 1983.
7. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Memorandum on Anti-Americanism in Greece (15 August 1974) and Left-wing terrorism in Greece: A Status report (March 1983).
8. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Status report on Greek parliamentary election and US bases in Greece (1981).
9. Hellenic Parliament’s Debates and Voting (Praktika Ellinikou Koinovouliou): Debate on Greek Foreign Ministry legislation draft about military and economic cooperation between Greece and United States, 30 October 1983–28 September 1984, vol. I, pp. 812–815, vol. II, pp. 1078–1082.
10. CIA releases 2017: Confidential Telegram from the US-embassy in Athens to the US-missions in Ankara, Moscow, Beirut, Nicosia, NATO: SUBJECT: Senator Percy’s meeting with Prime Minister Papandreou, 23 August 1982.
11. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Papandreou and the Military. An Intelligence Assessment (Secret) April 1983.
12. Source: SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/html/tiv/index.php.
13. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Papandreou and the Military. An Intelligence Assessment (Secret) April 1983.
14. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Confidential Telegram from the US-embassy in Athens to the US-missions in Ankara, Moscow, Beirut, Nicosia, NATO: Subject: Senator Percy’s meeting with Prime Minister Papandreou, 23 August 1982.
15. When in March 1982 a delegation of Jewish leaders visited the Greek Ambassador in the United States, Nikolaos Karandreas, to express disquiet over recent Greek actions relating to Israel, the Greek policy on the Middle East, the U.N. vote on the Golan, and the upgrading of the Israeli delegation in Athens, the Greek position was clarified as follows: ‘The Greek Government has repeatedly stated that the ultimate solution must guarantee the rights of all the peoples of the Middle East region to live in peace behind secure and guaranteed boundaries. This certainly and specifically includes the state of Israel. However, the Greek government does believe that the core of the Middle Eastern dispute is the Palestinian problem, and …it cannot be denied that the PLO is a factor’. State Archive of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel’s Relations to Greece, Folder 8940/6 and 8938/22.
16. Explanations given by Simon Peres during the first interview of an Israeli Prime Minister to a Greek Newspaper on 10.3.1985. According to the report, Peres’ response to whether Greece could play a mediation role in the Middle East problem was: ‘I can hardly see the role that Greece could play. As long as Greece adopts an unilateral position in the problem, insisted of taking a position for the solution of the problem, I don’t see what kind of role she could play.’ State Archive of Israel, Israel’s Relations to Greece and Cyprus, Folder 8969/4.
17. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Confidential Telegram from the US-embassy in Athens to the US-missions in Ankara, Moscow, Beirut, Nicosia, NATO: Subject: Senator Percy’s meeting with Prime Minister Papandreou, 23 August 1982.
18. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Report on Greece (1989).
19. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Operation Center Press’ report, subject Athens U.S. bases agreement (26 June 1987).
20. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Report on Greece (1989).
21. It is quite remarkable how Papandreou was trying to convince American officials that Greece did not belong to the socialist camp and barely intended to contribute to a détente: Senator Percy’s meeting with Prime Minister Papandreou, 23 August 1982; CIA releases 2017: Greece: Confidential Telegram from the US-embassy in Athens to the US-missions in Ankara, Moscow, Beirut, Nicosia, NATO. The Baltimore Sun newspaper reported in January 1986 on the occasion of the signing of a military agreement between the US and Greece for protecting military technology that there had been some concerns in the US Defence Department over Greece’s ability to protect advanced military technology from Soviet agents! Similar agreements designed to protect unauthorized dissemination of military information had been signed with other NATO countries as well ((US expected to sell Greece 40 F-16 fighters, 12 January). CIA releases 2017: Greece: Confidential Telegram from the US-embassy in Athens to the US-missions in Ankara, Moscow, Beirut, Nicosia, NATO: Subject: Senator Percy’s meeting with Prime Minister Papandreou, 23 August 1982.
22. Some of them raised concerns in the CIA, because they concerned high-tech and sensitive sectors as was the case with the Greek interest in purchasing seven MI-17 Soviet helicopters to use as ambulances. This type of helicopter could be configured as an ambulance as well as for general military purposes. However, the CIA believed that the Greek Government would not insist that Soviet equipment be considered, in particular because of the Greek military attitude towards the USSR (CIA releases 2017: Greece: Memorandum by the office of European analysis for the Intelligence Liaison Staff on 19 July 1983).
23. COMECON is an economic organization functioning under the leadership of the Soviet Union comprising the countries of the Eastern Bloc and some other communist states.
24. Political Archive of the Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany (Berlin), Völkerrechtliche Beziehungen DDR-Griechenland B80/1.216: Berichte des Auswärtigen Amtes 1982 and 1983 zum Konsularvertrag DDR-Griechenland von Juli 1982 und zum Rechthilfeabkommen von Juli 1981 [Reports by the Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic Germany 1982–1983 on the Consular Treaty between Greece and East Germany signed in July 1982 and on the Agreement on Judicial Assistance for citizens of the East German State between Greece and East Germany signed in July 1981]; Archive of the Foreign Ministry of the Former East Germany MfAA ZR 1532/84, Bericht zum Ägäis Konflikt zwischen Griechenland und der Türkei 1982. Translate this if you translate the other.
25. Archives of the Mass Organizations and the Political Parties of the Former East Germany, Büro Hermann Axen (Head of the East German Communist party’s international relations department), Folder DY 30 2/2; O35/98; Archives of the Mass Organisations and the Political Parties of the Former East Germany, Büro zHermann Axen, Meeting between Hermann Axen and Nikos Kaloudis in 4 February 1985, and Hermann Axen – Charilaos Florakis meeting in 29 August 1986, and Meeting between an East German Communist party’s Delegation and KKE officials at the sidelines of the 12th party congress of the KKE in May 1987; Hermann Axen’s report on the visit of an East German party Central committee in Greece from 25 until 29 August 1986.
26. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Memorandum for Director of Central Intelligence, Deputy Director of Central Intelligence 7 April 1988.
27. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Memorandum for NIO/GPF, subject: Mediterranean Workshop 28 May 1987.
28. Legislation Act 660/1977 on National Ministry of Defence, Supreme Commander Posts and Control of Defence Army (Gazette A/218).
29. Compared with an average of 9.4% for the EU for the same period (1981-‘89).
30. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Papandreou and the Military. An Intelligence Assessment (Secret) April 1983.
31. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Papandreou and the Military. An Intelligence Assessment (Secret) April 1983.
32. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Papandreou and the Military. An Intelligence Assessment (Secret) April 1983.
33. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Directoire of Intelligence 4 September 1986, Greece-Turkey-Cyprus: Trouble ahead?.
34. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Directoire of Intelligence 4 September 1986, Greece-Turkey-Cyprus: Trouble ahead?.
35. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Directoire of Intelligence 4 September 1986, Greece-Turkey-Cyprus: Trouble ahead?.
36. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Memorandum for Director of Central Intelligence, Deputy Director of Central Intelligence 7 April 1988.
37. CIA releases 2017: Greece: Memorandum for NIO/GPF, subject: Mediterranean Workshop 28 May 1987.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Andreas Stergiou
Andreas Stergiou is Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Thessaly specialised on European institutions and International Relations and Teaching Fellow at the Open University of Greece. He has published in French, English, Greek, German, and Portuguese.
Christos Kollias
Christos Kollias is Professor of Applied Economics, Editor of Defence and Peace Economics, External Research Associate of the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy, Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Economic Sciences and Applied Research, and Co-Editor of the book series Science & Society (in Greek).
Previous posts: Associate Professor of Economics, Department of Business Studies, TEI of Larissa (1998-2004); Research Fellow, Centre of Planning and Economic Research (1995-1998); adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Crete (1992-1995).
Research interests include: defence economics, socioeconomic consequences of terrorism, applied macroeconomics