The Wilson Government’s Responses to ‘The Rape of Greek Democracy’

Abstract

This article is a contribution to the analysis of the era of the Greek Colonels, whose military regime ruled Greece between 1967 and 1974. In particular, it seeks to examine one of its less explored aspects, namely the British authorities’ reactions to the news of the coup. It aims to expose underutilized archival evidence proving that the British government, despite its undisputed dislike of the regime’s dictatorial features, did little to avert the consolidation of the regime’s grasp of power during its early, formative stage. In short, it attempts to offer a coherent narrative about the British responses to the unconstitutional establishment of the Greek Colonels’ regime, while accounting for the factors which led them to adopting their stance.