The coming to power of the Greek military junta in April 1967 opened a new complex chapter in relations between Athens and Rome, which after the Second World War had been based on democratic revival. Having recovered from the civil war, the two countries had shown that they wanted to overcome past issues and Italy worked to promote the transition of Athens to the western liberal democratic system by pleading for its entry into NATO and its association with the European Community. In the second half of the 1960s, Mediterranean tensions intensified due to the internal crisis within NATO. The fall of the fragile Greek democracy coincided with one of the most dramatic situations for Italy, affected by internal tensions and ideological clashes. Ferruccio Parri reacted promptly with the establishment of a committee in support of democracy in Greece which was intended primarily to be a warning of the dangers that could also weigh on Italy. The new military regime that took office in Athens seemed to identify Italy as the soft underbelly of the Western bloc, through which it could send a loud and clear message to Washington: no internal interference would be tolerated, otherwise Greece’s international standing would be called into question. Attempts by the military junta to exert pressure through the network of Greek students present in Italy, the Esesi, and links with the far right turned the Greek question into an Italian problem. The study of Italian-Hellenic relations in the period in question makes use of primary sources such as the documents of the Moro, Nenni, Fanfani, Parri archives, as well as the main Italian parties, and on an international level the Historical Diplomatic Archive of the Ministry of Italian Foreign Affairs, the Historical Archives of the European Union, as well as the National Archives and Records Administration (USA) of the National Security Archive, George Washington University and the NATO Archives. With regard to the political and cultural debate, magazines such as Il Ponte, L’Astrolabio and Rinascita played a pivotal role.
Il regime militare ellenico e la democrazia italiana allo specchio / soave paolo. - STAMPA. - (2023), pp. 818-837. (Intervento presentato al convegno Grecia e Italia: 1821-2021, due secoli di storie condivise tenutosi a Atene, Istituto italiano di cultura nel 31 maggio-3 giugno 2023).
Il regime militare ellenico e la democrazia italiana allo specchio
soave paolo
2023
Abstract
The coming to power of the Greek military junta in April 1967 opened a new complex chapter in relations between Athens and Rome, which after the Second World War had been based on democratic revival. Having recovered from the civil war, the two countries had shown that they wanted to overcome past issues and Italy worked to promote the transition of Athens to the western liberal democratic system by pleading for its entry into NATO and its association with the European Community. In the second half of the 1960s, Mediterranean tensions intensified due to the internal crisis within NATO. The fall of the fragile Greek democracy coincided with one of the most dramatic situations for Italy, affected by internal tensions and ideological clashes. Ferruccio Parri reacted promptly with the establishment of a committee in support of democracy in Greece which was intended primarily to be a warning of the dangers that could also weigh on Italy. The new military regime that took office in Athens seemed to identify Italy as the soft underbelly of the Western bloc, through which it could send a loud and clear message to Washington: no internal interference would be tolerated, otherwise Greece’s international standing would be called into question. Attempts by the military junta to exert pressure through the network of Greek students present in Italy, the Esesi, and links with the far right turned the Greek question into an Italian problem. The study of Italian-Hellenic relations in the period in question makes use of primary sources such as the documents of the Moro, Nenni, Fanfani, Parri archives, as well as the main Italian parties, and on an international level the Historical Diplomatic Archive of the Ministry of Italian Foreign Affairs, the Historical Archives of the European Union, as well as the National Archives and Records Administration (USA) of the National Security Archive, George Washington University and the NATO Archives. With regard to the political and cultural debate, magazines such as Il Ponte, L’Astrolabio and Rinascita played a pivotal role.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
