AUTHORITARIANISM IN 20TH CENTURY GREECE Ideology and Education under the dictatorships of 1936 and 1967 Othon Evangelos Anastasakis Thesis submitted for PhD examination at the Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London. UMI Number: U062733 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U062733 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 F 6 922. ABSTRACT This study examines the authoritarian ideology and educational policy of two dictatorial regimes of 20th century Greece: the Metaxas’ dictatorship of 1936-1941 (the 4th of August regime); and the military junta of 1967-1974 (the 21st of April regime). Although viewed comparatively, the regimes in question are shown to have been different, due to crucial differences stemming from their contemporary international and domestic settings. Moreover, their ideologies were shaped by the way dictatorial rulers perceived and interpreted their reality. Influenced by the inter-war fascist context, the 4th of August regime tried to accommodate a radical fascist rhetoric to a nationalistic and traditionalist set of beliefs. Metaxas’ perception of reality was exemplified in his educational policy, through which the dictator unsuccessfully tried to mobilise from above the youth, on the imported model of the fascist youth movements. The 21st of April regime contrasted sharply with the post-war international liberal environment, while its ideology was marked by the distinct and often contradictory mentalities of the colonels. The contradictions and inconsistencies of the military mind were reproduced at the educational level, as the military rulers attempted to demobilise a highly organised youth, to reverse the previous liberal educational reforms and to appoint loyalists to key posts. So, while the 4th of August saw the legitimation of its authority in the use of an openly authoritarian discourse and the mobilisation of the youth, the 21st of April regime, by contrast, torn by the conflicting mentalities of its military rulers, sought legitimacy through clientelistic networks of support and the demobilisation of the youth. iii To my mother iv CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................... viii ABBREVIATIONS.......................................................................................................... ix INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................1 The inter-war fascist context................................................................................................. 2 Function of the regime Fascism and monopoly capital.......................................................................3 Political domination Totalitarianism...........................................................................................................4 Social base Mobilisation of the middle classes ...........................................................................6 Fascism A complex phenomenon................................................................................. 6 Greek literature on the 4th of August regime ....................................................................... 10 A fascist regime..................................................................................................................... 11 A “quasi-fascist” regime .............................................................................................14 A reactionary regime.............................................................................................................. 15 Contradictions among the hegemonic forces .............................................................18 The post-war liberal context ................................................................................................ 18 The difference with the fascist context... ................................................................19 The exceptional state..............................................................................................................20 The Bureaucratic-Authoritarian model ..................................................................................22 Right-wing military rule........................................................................................................ 23 Greek literature on the 21st of April regime ............................................................ 24 A US satellite......................................................................................................................... 25 A neo-fascist dictatorship ..................................................................................................... 26 A military coup d’ etat........................................................................................................... 27 The two authoritarian cases compared ..................................................................................28 Authoritarian belief system Ideologies vs mentalities......................................................................................... 31 Authoritarian education of the youth Mobilisation vs demobilisation ................................................................................ 34 Chapter 1 IDEOLOGY AND EDUCATION IN A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE GREECE 1821-1922 .................................................................................. 38 The development of a state ideology in independent Greece...............................................38 Religion The State and the Church .............................................................................. 43 Language The problem of “diglossia” ......................................................................................46 History Interpretation of the Greek past ....................................................................47 Nationalism The “Megali Idea” and the territorial implications ...................................................49 The Development of state education in independent Greece ................................... 53 The Centralised, Classicist and “Democratic” Character of Greek Education ............... 54 Demands for reform The “demoticist” movement ............................................................................58 PART I: THE 4TH OF AUGUST REGIME.................................................... 62 Chapter 2 INTER-WAR PERIOD......................................................................................63 Background factors to the 4th of August regime ................................................................ 63 V A. The Inter-war Period Socio-political Crisis and the Quest for a New National Identity .....................65 B. Fascism in Greece A negligible influence ......................................................................................70 C. The power structure of the 4th of August regime A royal-supported personal dictatorship ........................................................ 76 D. The personality of the leader Inter-war ideological vacillations..............................................................................79 Chapter 3 THE 4TH OF AUGUST REGIME’S IDEAS OF THE INTER-WAR REALITY..................................................................................................................88 Anti-communism A conventional authoritarian theme ..........................................................................90 Anti-parliamentarism The fascist influence ................................................................................................. 92 Inter-war nationalism The aggressive fascist context..................................................................................94 Greek nationalism under the 4th of August regime A defensive perception .............................................................................................97 "Third Greek Civilisation” The Metaxist Megali Idea...............................................................................99 Religion The ambivalent institution in inter-war authoritarianism .................................104 The fascist New State Corporati st organisation............................................................................................ 106 The Greek model of the corporate state and class regulation A populist rhetoric and practice .....................................................................108 The Leadership principle in the Greek case A “phony” charisma ..................................................................................................112 Metaxas and Salazar Similar patterns of behaviour ....................................................................................114 Chapter 4 THE 4TH OF AUGUST REGIME’S EDUCATIONAL POLICY........................116 A. Ideological mobilisation of the youth .............................................................................