Επιστράτευση 1974: ο καταλυτικός ρόλος των επίστρατων στην κατάρρευση της δικτατορίας των συνταγματαρχών

Abstract

The paper argues that the question 'what caused the collapse of the Greek dictatorial regime in July 1974' has preoccupied social scientists of the post-1974 era, but no fully satisfactory answer has so far been produced. A crucial factor that has been underestimated in most previous attempts at interpretation is the role played by the mass of the citizens who were forcibly mobilized into the military in July 1974. It is argued that this particular factor needs to be taken seriously into consideration, as it provides the necessary explanatory link that is lacking in structural-functionalist, as well as elite theory approaches, both of which tend to underplay the significance of collective actions and of civil society in democratization processes. The paper attempts to investigate the different ways in which the unorganized and spontaneous actions of mobilized soldiers influenced the decisions of the army elite, as well as the dynamics of the democratization process itself.