The great depression of the inter-war years was the most profound shock ever to strike the world economy, and is widely held to have led directly to the collapse of parliamentary democracy in many countries. This study of Greece in the period between the two world wars, however, demonstrates that there was no simple correlation between economic and political crisis. How was an underdeveloped country such as Greece able to recover so fast from this unprecedented economic crisis? This book examines the complex processes involved, basing analysis on detailed statistical research. Recovery, like c ... More

The great depression of the inter-war years was the most profound shock ever to strike the world economy, and is widely held to have led directly to the collapse of parliamentary democracy in many countries. This study of Greece in the period between the two world wars, however, demonstrates that there was no simple correlation between economic and political crisis. How was an underdeveloped country such as Greece able to recover so fast from this unprecedented economic crisis? This book examines the complex processes involved, basing analysis on detailed statistical research. Recovery, like crisis, threatened prevailing notions of the relationship between state and society, and undermined traditional ruling elites.