Transition to Stability: The Greek Left in 1974

Abstract

This chapter explores how the Greek Left responded to the downfall of the military regime in the summer of 1974 and the question of transition to a new political order. It argues that the parties of the communist Left disassociated themselves from radical aims and opted for a cautious policy that would allow them to reenter national politics. This stance was shaped by traumatic historical legacies of the 1940s and the defeat of the Left at the moment of post-war transition. Therefore, this chapter highlights the shaping of the political imagination of the Left at moments of national crises and the particulars of the transition to the Third Greek Republic.