Women, State Oppression and Political Violence in Post-War Greece (1946-1974)
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Engendering the Nation: Women, state oppression and political violence in post-war Greece (1946-1974) Katherine Stefatos Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Politics Department, Goldsmiths College University of London 1 I, Katherine Stefatos, declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own. 2 To my family, my parents Mary and Yiannis Stefatos, my sister Lela and my grandmother Katerina Antonelli to my partner Dimitris C. Papadopoulos, with all my love and gratitude In loving memory of my grandparents Lela and Vassilis Stefatos and Prokopis Antonellis 3 Engendering the Nation: Women, state oppression and political violence in post-war Greece (1946-1974) Abstract The PhD thesis: Engendering the Nation: Women, state oppression and political violence in post-war Greece (1946-1974), addresses the gendered characteristics of political violence during the 1946-1974 period in Greece. The phenomenon of political violence and state oppression against politically active women is analysed through the prism of nationalist ideology, both as a legitimising mechanism for the continuation of abuse and terrorisation, but also as a vehicle for re-appropriating gender roles, power hierarchies, sexual stereotypes and social norms. Research focuses on (1) the gender-specific ways women were persecuted, incarcerated and abused and the causes of this gender-based violence; (2) the ways in which the nationalist, official discourse made use of gender characteristics in order to enact this type of abuse and oppression. Accordingly, the phenomenon of political violence against women dissidents is examined through the main analytical categories of gender and nationalism. This thesis provides a history and analysis of political violence against women in the Greek Civil War (1946-1949), the period of weak democracy (1950-1967) and the military dictatorship (1967-1974), respectively. The overall aim of the research is to bring forward the downplayed gendered characteristics of state-perpetuated violence and repression, and analyse them within the nationalist ideology and the ascribed traditional gender roles through which the oppressive mechanisms were institutionalised and authorised. In this respect, the experience of women as political detainees is reconstructed through an analysis of the sites and practices of political violence, terror and torture as operated and implemented by the state and its agents. PhD research draws on gender studies and discourse analysis and seeks to situate the Greek case within a feminist critique that emphasises the politics of gender and the dominant discourse of nationalism. 4 Preface There are many people to thank that all have contributed and provided great help and support throughout this compelling journey. Firstly, I would like to thank my PhD supervisor, Dr. Jasna Dragovic-Soso, who supported and guided me, meticulously reviewed and commented on all the drafts of this thesis, while challenging me to build further and in depth my initial thoughts, ideas and arguments. I am particular indebted to the Professor of Anthropology, Neni Panourgia, who has been a great source of encouragement, support and inspiration, going back to 1998, when she urged me to write a paper on the Greek junta and the Polytechnic uprisings for her course: “People of Europe” at NYU. Victoria Sanford, the Professor of Anthropology at CUNY has generously offered me guidance, encouragement and support, especially in the last stage, when it was very much needed. I would also like to thank my dear friend, Dr. Nota Pantzou, who reviewed, commented and emotionally supported me in the course of this research. Of course, my deepest thank you and appreciation go to the women and men, former political detainees and dissidents that I met and interviewed, along with their families, without them this research would not have been possible. I feel privileged and eternally grateful to have met them and I thank them for entrusting me with their feelings, their memories and their truths. I am grateful to my examiners, Professor Wendy Bracewell and Professor Jane K. Cowan for the valuable comments, productive discussion and extremely useful feedback. The list continues with a number of researchers and scholars that helped, advised and commented on my work, especially at the initial stage of the research. I would like to thank the historians Tasoula Vervenioti and Giorgos Antoniou, Assistant Professor Polymeris Voglis, Associate Professor Nikos Marantzidis, Professor Ilias Nikolakopoulos, Professor Margaret Kenna, Professor Spike Peterson and Professor Mark Mazower. I would also like to thank the staff of the Modern Greek Archives, at King‟s College London Archives, the Greek Literary and Historical Archive (ELIA), the Historical Archives Preservation Company (EDIA), the Company for the Study of Left Youth History (EMIAN) and especially the Contemporary Social History Archives (ASKI). Special thanks go to the Director of the Museum of Political Exiles of Ai Stratis, Harilaos Sismanis, for all his help and for providing me access to the valuable archives and artwork of the Museum, especially to Hariati-Sismani‟s private collection. I also need to thank Dimitris Karatzitzis and Filio Mauromati for their assistance and for allowing me to consult their personal archive and my friends Dr. Anastasia Sakellariadi and Katarina Macarieova for the support and encouragement during my stays in London. Finally, I want to thank my parents, Mary and Yiannis Stefatos, to whom I owe everything, for providing me with the support base during all my studies and equipping me with the much needed perseverance, economic and emotional support, love and understanding, to complete this PhD thesis. Many thanks go to my dear sister Lela and my friends and family for being there and for genuinely trying to understand what this research was about. And last but not least, of course, to my partner Dr. Dimitris C. Papadopoulos, for bearing all my anxieties and work load throughout the years, for assisting me in every possible way, but most importantly for believing in me and in this specific project. In any case, I am solely responsible for all the opinions expressed and for any possible errors or oversights. 5 Table of Contents Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ 8 I. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 10 I.i.Theoretical Framework and Methodological Approaches ................................................................... 15 I.ii. Analysing gender and violence: feminist theory and discourse analysis .......................................... 17 I.iii. Methodological tools: memoirs, interviews, archives........................................................................ 21 I.iv.Overview of Chapters ........................................................................................................................ 29 Chapter 1: Literature Review .................................................................................................. 31 1.1. Introduction....................................................................................................................................... 31 1.2. Historiography of the Greek Civil War .............................................................................................. 32 1.2.1. The Traditional Approach.......................................................................................................... 32 1.2.2. The Revisionist School of Thought ........................................................................................... 34 1.2.3. Post-revisionism and the „new‟ trends in Civil War historiography ........................................... 36 1.3. Weak democracy and the Military Dictatorship: the „black hole‟ of Greek scholarship .................. 43 1.4. Women in the Greek Civil War historiography ................................................................................ 48 1.5. Gender studies in Greece: gender in historiography and anthropology ........................................ 54 1.5.1. The historiography of women and gender ................................................................................ 54 1.5.2. Gender in anthropology and ethnography ................................................................................ 57 1.6. Gender, state violence and nationalism: the international academic scholarship ......................... 60 1.7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 67 Chapter 2: Re-constructing the experience of women: state oppression and nationalism during the Greek Civil War ......................................................................... 68 2.1. Introduction....................................................................................................................................... 68 2.2. Historical and Political Background (1946-1949): contextualising women in post-war Greece ....... 69 2.2.1. Patriarchy and political engagement during the Greek Resistance and the Civil War ............. 70 2.2.2. Female dissidents between the family and the Party ............................................................... 71 2.3. Re-approaching gender, political violence and nationalism ............................................................