The 50 years that have passed since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the fall of the April Junta constitute the lifespan of the Third Hellenic Republic. Naturally, we all want to take stock. Honestly, what Greece did we inherit, what was the Greece we dreamed of, and what Greece do we end up living in? This means that the assessment must focus on the real field of history, not on its embellishment or canonization. Because, anyone claiming that everything is fine, all's well, is either simply naive or lying.
Based on this reasoning, we aimed to carry out a different, critically oriented, tribute to what has already been achieved. Unfortunately, the waters are not deeper; they are perhaps stagnant. This is exactly what Antonio Gramsci meant when speaking of the age of monsters. It is now not only a matter of moral and historical vindication but also a political necessity to recognize that the restoration of Democracy in Greece, in July 1974, resulted from the destruction of Cyprus. It is also historically necessary to emphasize that the concealment of the disabled Independence is a deliberate crime by omission. The Greek and Cypriot Republics are two disabled states, which continue to be unable to exercise their sovereign rights.
Therefore, the reality is different from what appears. The metapolitefsi, as the evidence reveals, did not modify or change the country's complex dependency structures. On the contrary, by refining certain aspects compared to the past, under pressure from popular radicalism, it gave shape to new, more modern forms of dependence, as we experienced in the last fifteen years and as they are reflected in the open governance of the country by the troika and the mortgaging of public wealth for 99 years.
The current, all-encompassing, undeniably, country's bankruptcy is the greatest and most significant indicator of the assessment of the post-1974 period. The political world's celebrations of the 50 years, without particular reference to the bankruptcy, what it leaves as shackles for the country for decades to come, and what social and national amputations it entails, are the major concern. In this, and the questions and dilemmas it raises, the twenty-five authors of this volume attempt to respond with arguments.
