The bloodless transition from dictatorship to democracy in 1974 led to the consolidation of the Third Hellenic Republic, the most open and democratic form of government in modern Greek history. 1974 marked the end of a long period of upheaval, civil conflicts, and divisions that left an indelible mark on the first 150 years of the Greek state. It also marked the beginning of a virtuous historical cycle of stability, democracy, and a European outlook. And this is undoubtedly the great achievement of Konstantinos Karamanlis.

The completion of half a century since the great achievement of the Greek democratic transition calls for an attempt at a substantive assessment. At the same time, however, it leads us to face the challenges of the 21st century head-on. Already today, certainties of decades, both domestically and especially internationally, are a thing of the past. The logic of the present collective volume is therefore twofold: on the one hand, to examine the critical events of the transition to democracy from a new (inter)disciplinary perspective, and on the other, to make a substantial contribution to the public and academic dialogue on the Third Hellenic Republic.

The texts in this volume are based on the presentations of more than forty distinguished scholars from Greece and abroad, delivered at the international conference organized by the Konstantinos G. Karamanlis Foundation on the theme “50 Years Since the Transition to Democracy: Democracy in Our Time.”