Abstract

The increasingly fraught position of the interwar Second Hellenic Republic (1924—35) paved the way for fascist and para-fascist ideas to infiltrate Greece’s revisionist circles. Unlike mass-movements seen in Italy, Germany, and Austria which largely swept the New Right into power from the streets, Greek politics underwent a process of top-down "voluntary fascist-isation" where several far-right figures rapidly gained influence such as General Ioannis Metaxas, General Giorgos Kondylis, and others. This seminar recontextualises the rise of Metaxas’ Dictatorship and its ideological underpinnings vis-à-vis a wider engagement with the concepts and practises which caused a regional crisis of election-based political systems in the 1920s and 30s. It will argue that previous scholarship has largely underestimated Greece’s engagement with transnational fascism and its European sponsors, especially regarding the alibi in the Metaxas regime’s stand against the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1940—41.

Bio

Dean Kontos is a recent graduate of the University of Melbourne, where he undertook a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in History and English Literature. In 2025, Dean completed his Honours dissertation. He researched the interwar period, specifically the influence of fascist ideology in the collapse of Greek democracy and the arrival of Ioannis Metaxas’ Fourth of August Regime in 1936. He continues to write and do research in this field.

How to Participate

This is an in-person only event, so please join us at the Greek Centre, on Level M.

See our speaker live, ask questions during the Q&A and hobnob with fellow participants before and after the event.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Sponsors

During the course of the year considerable expenses are incurred in staging the seminars. In order to mitigate these costs individuals or organisations are invited to donate against a lecture of their choice.

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