London School of Economics

Visiting Fellow, Hellenic Observatory

Other Affiliations: London School of Economics, International History

PhD holder

Thesis Title: British foreign policy towards the Greek junta, 1967-1974

About

I took my BA in English Language and Literature at the University of Athens. I subsequently studied History and International Relations at the London School of Economics, gaining an MA and a PhD in International History.
I have recently presented my research at conferences and seminars at LSE, King's College London, Oxford University, Yale University, and the Centre for Contemporary British History, and I have won a dissertation prize from the London Hellenic Society. I have taught on various aspects of twentieth century international history at the LSE for a number of years.

I speak Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and some Arabic and Turkish.

Current research:

My research interests lie in the field of international history of the Mediterranean and the Balkans in the twentieth century. The project I am pursuing at the moment deals with the transformation of Greek politics and polity of the late 1970s- early 1980s, after the emergence, and eventual dominance, of the Socialist Party of Greece (PASOK). Taking further my prior research on Anglo-Greek relations in the 1960s and 1970s, I am looking at the way the first socialist government of Greece handled important foreign policy issues (such as the general orientation of the country, including its participation in the EEC), but also the way its rhetoric and actions were viewed by its Western allies and fellow member states in regional organizations like the Council of Europe, NATO, and the EEC. Emphasis is placed on how London perceived the change of leadership in Athens, and the repercussions that had in bilateral, and other, relations.

Recent research:
My PhD dissertation focused on British policy towards the Greek military dictatorship, 1967-1974.

More specifically, I used recently released documents from both the UK and (for the first time) Greece to explore the Wilson and Heath governments' diplomatic, defence, and trade relations with the military dictatorship that ruled Greece from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s.

The main hypothesis is that subsequent Labour and Conservative governments followed a pragmatic policy in their dealings with the Athens junta, mainly because of the significance attributed by Britain to security and financial concerns.

Greece's allegiance to NATO and London's willingness to continue (and expand) trade prospects with foreign countries meant that there was little space for human rights concerns in British foreign policy decision-making.

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