ABSTRACT
When the civil war ended Greece had endured a period of occupation and war longer than that experienced anywhere else in Europe, in addition to which it had also had to suffer authoritarian or semi-authoritarian government since 1936. That representative institutions and parliamentary democracy were to be reborn was testimony to Greece's dedication to the open society, but the evolution towards that society was gradual and it was not entirely the work of the Greeks or their leaders; other vital factors were the cold war, American aid and the impact of the Cyprus problem.
