EUR  â¬165.60EUR  â¬138.00 excl. VAT
Nationalism as a Claim to a State
The Greek Revolution of 1821 and the Formation of Modern Greece
Series: - Historical Materialism Book Series, Volume: 278
Author:
In theorising on the causes, preconditions, dynamics and internal conflicts of the Greek Revolution of 1821, the analysis of Milios tackles the issue of bourgeois revolutions in general. Additionally, his investigation of the historical emergence and the limits of the Greek nation calls forth the broader theoretical and historical question of the economic, political, and ideological presuppositions of nation-building. The book illustrates how nationalism brings the masses to the political forefront, which the capitalist state then incorporates into its apparatuses as âsovereign peopleâ. Nationalism, being enmeshed within the political element, consists the basis upon which irredentism develops, recruiting populations into the expansionist-imperialist strategies of the ruling classes.
John Milios, PhD (1988), University of Osnabrück, is Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at the National Technical University of Athens. He has published many articles and monographs on Marxist economic theory and history, including The Origins of Capitalism as a Social System (Routledge 2018).
"John Milios offers us a timely and important intervention in the discussions on the character and role of the 1821 Greek Revolution, a necessary antidote to the nationalist consensus which seems to have prevailed in the bicentenary celebrations of that event. Through the lens of political economy, he critically analyses the role of the emerging middle classes in the formation of the nation state of Greece. At the same time, he shows that the protagonists of the national struggle had imperial (I would prefer to call them colonial) ambitions from the very start, ambitions that were burnt in the ashes of Smyrna a century later. The book not only helps us understand the emergence and the fates of Greece as a national and political phenomenon, and its continuing role as a buffer state in global geopolitics, but it also constitutes a valuable contribution to the contemporary discussions on (and struggles towards) ideological, economic, and political decolonisation".
- Yannis Hamilakis, Brown University, co-author of Archaeology, Nation, and Race: Confronting the Past, Decolonizing the Future.
"Nationalism as a Claim to a State provides a groundbreaking account of the Greek Revolution and its aftermath. Opposing the myth of Hellenic continuity, Milios analyses the Greek nationalist movement in terms of capitalist interests within â and at odds with â the Ottoman Empire. He emphasises that early proclamations of Hellenic independence also included Albanians, Serbs, and Bulgars; later, the Greek state defined itself against those groups and pursued territorial expansion. Part of a broader historical movement, the emergent Greek state reveals how nationalist ideologies get twisted this way and that to avoid confronting the realities of capitalism. Carefully researched and persuasively argued, Miliosâs study takes us deep into the Greek Revolution and beyond, offering crucial lessons for the contemporary world."
- Rush Rehm, Professor Theater and Performance Studies, and Classics, Stanford University, Artistic Director, Stanford Repertory Theater (SRT)
"Who were the Greeks whom the Revolution of 1821 sought to liberate into a national-constitutional state? In this fascinating book, distinguished political economist John Milios investigates the processes of economic, social, and political-ideological unification through which, from the second half of the eighteenth century, Greek-speaking and other Orthodox capitalists promoted a broad national politicisation of large Orthodox Christian populations in the Ottoman Empire and turned them into Greek freedom fighters. He shows how the revolution of the masses demanding representative institutions led to the formation of a constitutional bourgeois state and a national capitalist social formation (1821â27) before taking a Bonapartist and, later, monarchist turn. This is the first book to consider the role of capitalism, nationalism, republicanism, racism, and imperialism in the formation of modern Greece".
- Vassilios Lambropoulos, C. P. Cavafy Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan
- Yannis Hamilakis, Brown University, co-author of Archaeology, Nation, and Race: Confronting the Past, Decolonizing the Future.
"Nationalism as a Claim to a State provides a groundbreaking account of the Greek Revolution and its aftermath. Opposing the myth of Hellenic continuity, Milios analyses the Greek nationalist movement in terms of capitalist interests within â and at odds with â the Ottoman Empire. He emphasises that early proclamations of Hellenic independence also included Albanians, Serbs, and Bulgars; later, the Greek state defined itself against those groups and pursued territorial expansion. Part of a broader historical movement, the emergent Greek state reveals how nationalist ideologies get twisted this way and that to avoid confronting the realities of capitalism. Carefully researched and persuasively argued, Miliosâs study takes us deep into the Greek Revolution and beyond, offering crucial lessons for the contemporary world."
- Rush Rehm, Professor Theater and Performance Studies, and Classics, Stanford University, Artistic Director, Stanford Repertory Theater (SRT)
"Who were the Greeks whom the Revolution of 1821 sought to liberate into a national-constitutional state? In this fascinating book, distinguished political economist John Milios investigates the processes of economic, social, and political-ideological unification through which, from the second half of the eighteenth century, Greek-speaking and other Orthodox capitalists promoted a broad national politicisation of large Orthodox Christian populations in the Ottoman Empire and turned them into Greek freedom fighters. He shows how the revolution of the masses demanding representative institutions led to the formation of a constitutional bourgeois state and a national capitalist social formation (1821â27) before taking a Bonapartist and, later, monarchist turn. This is the first book to consider the role of capitalism, nationalism, republicanism, racism, and imperialism in the formation of modern Greece".
- Vassilios Lambropoulos, C. P. Cavafy Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan
9789004533516 Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 The Revolution in Moldavia and Wallachia: Questions on the Borders of the Greek Nation
â1âThe Declarations of Alexandros Ypsilantis: Hellas in Serbia and Bulgaria
â2âThe Evolution and Failure of the Campaign in Moldavia and Wallachia
â3âQuestions for Consideration: Nation, State and Borders of Claimed Territory
2 The âHellasâ of 1821: Initial Thoughts on the Dissemination of Greek National Politicisation
â1âThe Boundaries of âHellasâ, Beginning with Rigas Pheraios (1797) to 1821
â2âVarious Assessments of the âTransnationalâ Element of the Revolution in the National Historiography
â3âLanguage, Origins and the âPlans of the Friendsâ
3 Approaches to the Nation: A General Theoretical Assessment
â1âThe Traditional Ethnocentric Approach
â2âThe âObjectiveâ Approach
â3âThe âSubjectiveâ Approach
â4âThe Priority of the Political Element: The Nation as State-Instituted âPopular Willâ
â5âThe Nation of Capital: Further Points on a Theory of the Nation
4 Romans and Greeks in the Ottoman Empire: From Pre-national Social Cohesion to a Greek Nation
â1âIntroductory Remarks concerning the Birth of the Greek Nation
â2âRemarks on the Structure of the Ottoman Empire
â3âLanguage and the âUniversalist Hermeneuticsâ of Nationalism
â4âThe Chronicle of Galaxidi, or a Pre-national, âRomanâ Historical Narrative of the period 981â1703
â5âTwo Events Non-national in Character
â6âThe Ottoman Empire and the Birth of the Greek Nation
5 The First State of the Revolution: The Victorious Period (1821â1824)
â1âConstitutions and Institutions: The Formation of a Bourgeois State
â2âLords, Politicians and Military Corps: The Political Uplifting of the Masses
â3âPolitical Trends and Civil Wars
â4âRegarding Class Antagonisms within the Revolutionary Forces
6 The Ebb of the Revolution, the Intervention of the âGreat Powersâ and the End of Constitutional Republicanism (1825â1833)
â1âThe Unfavourable Turn in the War
â2âInternational-Political Relations and Diplomatic Recognition of the Greek state
â3âInternal Conflicts, Dead-Ends, and the End of Constitutional Republicanism
7 The Formation of a Capitalist State and Social Formation
â1âThe Revolution and Its State as a Point of No Return in the Process of Consolidating Capitalist Social Relations
â2âCapital as a Relationship: Manufacture, Shipping, Trade and Financial aAtivities
â3âAgricultural Production, Rural Property Relations and âNational Landsâ
â4âRemnants and Resistance of the âancien régimeâ
8 âHellenisation of the Eastâ: The Vision and the Reality
â1âA Partial Review: A Genuine Bourgeois Revolution
â2âThe Grand Idea of the Revolution
â3âGreek and the Greek-Speaking Populations of the Ottoman Empire
â4âThe Economic Dimension of the Grand Idea
â5âContraction and the âStabilityâ of the Grand Idea Following the Development of Balkan Nationalisms
â6âAfter the Grand Idea: âA Rupture within Continuityâ
9 1821 âin the Presentâ: On the Ideological Uses of the Revolution
â1âIntroduction: on the Ideological Uses of History
â2âThe Tradition of the âContinuity of Hellenismâ and Its Transformations in the Nineteenth Century
â3âThe Ideology of âNational Continuityâ as a Devaluation of the Revolution and as a Self-Contradiction
â4ââNational Continuityâ and Racism
â5âHistorical Approaches in the Context of the Left (1907â1946): From Attempts at Scientific Analysis for the Documentation of a Socialist Strategy to Ideological Uses of History
â6âDoes History Unite a Nation?
References
Index
Introduction
Part 1 The Nation and the Revolution
1 The Revolution in Moldavia and Wallachia: Questions on the Borders of the Greek Nation
â1âThe Declarations of Alexandros Ypsilantis: Hellas in Serbia and Bulgaria
â2âThe Evolution and Failure of the Campaign in Moldavia and Wallachia
â3âQuestions for Consideration: Nation, State and Borders of Claimed Territory
2 The âHellasâ of 1821: Initial Thoughts on the Dissemination of Greek National Politicisation
â1âThe Boundaries of âHellasâ, Beginning with Rigas Pheraios (1797) to 1821
â2âVarious Assessments of the âTransnationalâ Element of the Revolution in the National Historiography
â3âLanguage, Origins and the âPlans of the Friendsâ
3 Approaches to the Nation: A General Theoretical Assessment
â1âThe Traditional Ethnocentric Approach
â2âThe âObjectiveâ Approach
â3âThe âSubjectiveâ Approach
â4âThe Priority of the Political Element: The Nation as State-Instituted âPopular Willâ
â5âThe Nation of Capital: Further Points on a Theory of the Nation
4 Romans and Greeks in the Ottoman Empire: From Pre-national Social Cohesion to a Greek Nation
â1âIntroductory Remarks concerning the Birth of the Greek Nation
â2âRemarks on the Structure of the Ottoman Empire
â3âLanguage and the âUniversalist Hermeneuticsâ of Nationalism
â4âThe Chronicle of Galaxidi, or a Pre-national, âRomanâ Historical Narrative of the period 981â1703
â5âTwo Events Non-national in Character
â6âThe Ottoman Empire and the Birth of the Greek Nation
Part 2 The Revolution and Its State
5 The First State of the Revolution: The Victorious Period (1821â1824)
â1âConstitutions and Institutions: The Formation of a Bourgeois State
â2âLords, Politicians and Military Corps: The Political Uplifting of the Masses
â3âPolitical Trends and Civil Wars
â4âRegarding Class Antagonisms within the Revolutionary Forces
6 The Ebb of the Revolution, the Intervention of the âGreat Powersâ and the End of Constitutional Republicanism (1825â1833)
â1âThe Unfavourable Turn in the War
â2âInternational-Political Relations and Diplomatic Recognition of the Greek state
â3âInternal Conflicts, Dead-Ends, and the End of Constitutional Republicanism
7 The Formation of a Capitalist State and Social Formation
â1âThe Revolution and Its State as a Point of No Return in the Process of Consolidating Capitalist Social Relations
â2âCapital as a Relationship: Manufacture, Shipping, Trade and Financial aAtivities
â3âAgricultural Production, Rural Property Relations and âNational Landsâ
â4âRemnants and Resistance of the âancien régimeâ
Part 3 The Revolution as the âGrand Ideaâ and as the âPresentâ
8 âHellenisation of the Eastâ: The Vision and the Reality
â1âA Partial Review: A Genuine Bourgeois Revolution
â2âThe Grand Idea of the Revolution
â3âGreek and the Greek-Speaking Populations of the Ottoman Empire
â4âThe Economic Dimension of the Grand Idea
â5âContraction and the âStabilityâ of the Grand Idea Following the Development of Balkan Nationalisms
â6âAfter the Grand Idea: âA Rupture within Continuityâ
9 1821 âin the Presentâ: On the Ideological Uses of the Revolution
â1âIntroduction: on the Ideological Uses of History
â2âThe Tradition of the âContinuity of Hellenismâ and Its Transformations in the Nineteenth Century
â3âThe Ideology of âNational Continuityâ as a Devaluation of the Revolution and as a Self-Contradiction
â4ââNational Continuityâ and Racism
â5âHistorical Approaches in the Context of the Left (1907â1946): From Attempts at Scientific Analysis for the Documentation of a Socialist Strategy to Ideological Uses of History
â6âDoes History Unite a Nation?
References
Index
Historians, social scientists, economists, Marxist scholars and activists, students and all who are interested in Greek and European History, Political Economy, State Theory, Nation theory and Nationalism, Pre-Industrial Capitalism, and Bourgeoisie Revolutions.