2015/01/01 by Marianna D. Christopoulos · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Balkans: History, Politics, Society
paper · doi:10.1017/s0307013100015378
openalex publication_date 2015/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Although the Balkan Wars are regarded as a defining moment in modern Greek history that led to the expansion of Greek territory, they also constitute an important chapter in the history of internal Greek politics: the Greek prime minister Eleftherios Venizelos consolidated his position as the country’s most competent politician; the Palace, at the head of the victorious Greek army, regained much of its lost prestige after the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish war of 1897; and most importantly, the old parties began to function as a united front against Venizelos. This reaction was majorly triggered by Venizelos’ handling of the country’s foreign affairs in 1912-13. The anti-Venizelists’ rhetoric against Venizelos diplomacy invested heavily in tradition and the role of the king and was a harbinger of the national schism of 1915-16.