The Greek civil war took place between 1943 and 1949. It is one of the most painful episodes of Greece history. We can wonder what was the role of the Greek civil war in the International History of post war era, especially its belonging to the transitional period between the end of the Second World War and the start of the Cold War.
First, I will show that this war was not merely a domestic issue. Then, I will describe the characteristics of the Anglo-American interventions in Greece which gave to the Greek civil war its international dimension. Finally, I will show that this conflict was an important episode of the cold war even if the involvement of western powers was based on incorrect perceptions of Soviet objectives.
[...] The signification of the Greek civil war in international history The Greek civil war and the Cold War: the Anglo-American side The Greek tragedy belongs to that transitional period between the end of the Second World War and the start of the Cold War. Churchill was certainly the first to perceive the future clash between the Western camp and Soviet Union. His negotiation of the “Percentages agreement” revealed how pessimistic he was regarding possible good future relationship among the Allied[32]. [...]
[...] Studies in the history of the Greek civil war, 1945-1949. Copenhagen p.226 Jones, Howard. New kind of America's global strategy and the Truman doctrine in Greece. Oxford University Press p.32. Bernstein, Barton J. The Truman Administration: A Documentary History. New-York p On the Truman doctrine see in particular Jones, Howard. New kind of America's global strategy and the Truman doctrine in Greece. Oxford University Press Baerentzen, Lars and Close, David H. The British defeat of EAM, 1944- 1945 in Close, David H. [...]
[...] Thus, we saw that the Greek civil war was a complex conflict of both domestic and international dimensions. their decision to intervene, Britain and the United States were motivated by their own strategic interests and in particular by fears of Soviet expansion towards the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East”[49]. However, we saw that the perception of the soviet threat was incorrect. Indeed, Soviet Union was very cautious concerning any intervention in the Greek civil war. If ultimately it did intervene, it was at a low scale and not in the perspective to allow the Greek communists to take control over Greece. [...]
[...] Studies in the history of the Greek civil war, 1945-1949. Copenhagen Iatrides, John O. Britain, the United States, and Greece, 1945-1949 in David H. The Greek civil war, 1943-1950. Studies of polarization. London p.205. Iatrides, John O. Britain, the United States, and Greece, 1945-1949 in David H. The Greek civil war, 1943-1950. Studies of polarization. London p.205. Iatrides, Hohn O. Greece and the United States: the strained partnership, p.160 Fontaine,André. La Guerre Froide in Encyclopedia Universalis Keylor, William. The 20th Century World: An International History. [...]
[...] Greece really became the object of American concern when the Truman administration viewed the Greek civil war as a product of the increasing gap between West and East, or in another word as the result of the cold war coming to the stage. In this sense, “there is a definite link between the gradually formulated view that the Soviet Union was responsible for the post-war crisis in Greece and the Truman administration's equally gradual decision to commit itself to the victory of the anti-communist forces in that country”[12]. [...]
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