“My decision to compose and publish the second volume of Greek foreign policy is a result of the realization that the necessary prerequisites for undertaking a systematic approach to the events of the post-war period already exist.
My effort has, for the first time over a span of 4 decades, built upon the findings contained in the first systematic monographs on issues of that era, drawn rich elements from already published primary sources, and even delved, whenever possible, into unpublished archival collections.
The ability to record and interpret the events of the broader post-war period varies according to their chronological identification, at a distance greater or lesser from our present day. The first two decades, the '40s and '50s, have already been the subject of more extensive research, resulting in an underpinning, albeit limited, number of specialized studies.
The more recent opportunity to investigate the primary material from the '60s has not yet yielded similar results, in the form of a synthesis of historical documentation. Finally, the investigation of developments during the immediately following period relies on primary material published or unpublished, mainly of private origin.
The very sense of the inadequacy of the sources that would allow for a valid negotiation—consistent with the rules of historical science—discouraged me from attempting, for the time being, to record the history of the last two decades of the century.” [Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]
