How conflicts beteen Greece and Turkey in the 19th – early 20th centuries affected the formation of historical memory in both states

Abstract

Present-day relations between Greece and Turkey cannot be defined as neighborship. One of the main reasons for this is a negative influence of the historical memory of relations (HMR) on the two peoples’ mutual vision. Addressing the HMR from this angle can help to identify the degree of hostilities and assess the prospects for improving relations. Therefore, the authors tried to trace, by means of historical narrative, the eventual determinants of both HMRs in 1821–1923, i.e. during the period when the events most actualized by the HMRs of modern Greeks and Turks took place. In this century, the HMRs were formed under the pressure of conflict situations. Those were the liberation war of the Greeks in 1821–1829, the “30-day war” in 1897, the Balkan wars of 1912–1913, and the Greek-Turkish war of 1919–1922. Because of them, the HMRs and the nationalisms in Greece and Turkey acquired mutually accusatory orientation. As such, they in a way guaranteed irreconcilability between the states on the issues dividing them. Also, the Greek-Turkish relations as well as the growth of nationalisms, fell into the context of the great powers struggle for the Ottoman legacy. The current Turkish-Greek disputes concerning Cyprus and over the Aegean shelf are also influenced by other countries’ interests. Nationalisms in Greece and Turkey block reconciliation of the parties, while the interdependent hostility of the two HMRs guarantees the continuity of confrontational motivations in their political consciousness. What results, is a cyclical nature of the Greek-Turkish clashes, long-term tensions between the two countries and recurring outbreaks of conflicts between them.