Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Νεώτερη και Σύγχρονη Ελληνική ΙστορίαLibrary of the School of Philosophy
Author:
Papakondylis Ioannis
Dissertation committee:
Βαγγέλης Καραμανωλάκης, αναπληρωτής καθηγητής, ΕΚΠΑ
Κατερίνα Γαρδίκα, πρώην αναπληρώτρια καθηγήτρια, ΕΚΠΑ
Δήμητρα Λαμπροπούλου, επίκουρη καθηγήτρια, ΕΚΠΑ
Ευάνθης Χατζηβασιλείου, καθηγητής, ΕΚΠΑ
Σπυρίδων Πλουμίδης, αναπληρωτής καθηγητής, ΕΚΠΑ
Κατερίνα Δέδε, κύρια ερευνήτρια, Εθνικό Ίδρυμα Ερευνών
Ελένη Κυραμαργιού, εντεταλμένη ερευνήτρια, Εθνικό Ίδρυμα Ερευνών
Original Title:
Από την «ανόρθωση» στην «ανασυγκρότηση». Τοπική αυτοδιοίκηση και κράτος στο πρώτο μισό του 20ού αιώνα
Translated title:
From “Rehabilitation” to “Reconstruction”: Local Government and State in the First Half of the Twentieth Century
Summary:
This thesis explores the re-shaping of local government as an institution and its interaction with the state during the first half of the twentieth century in Greece. The starting point of my research is the adoption of Law 4057/1912 under Eleftherios Venizelos’s tenure as prime minister. The law restructured local government for the first time after the establishment of the municipal system by the Bavarian Regency in 1833. The main novelty of Law 4057/1912 was the introduction of a new type of local government units: the communities (koinotites), next to the municipalities (dimoi) that already existed. The aim is to demonstrate that the reorganization of local government was consistently addressed as a necessary and key parameter for the reform of the state apparatus. Thus, the research begins at the time of the general demand for rehabilitation (anorthosis) of the Greek state, at the turn of the century, and ends in the early 1950s, i.e. the period of post-war reconstruction. First are studied the causes which led to the 1912 local government reform, the problems that it attempted to address, and the expectations that it fostered. Moreover, the thesis follows the implementation of this reform up to 1954 and the ratification of the first post-war Municipal and Communal Code. My intention is to underline the relations and the dynamics between local and central government in Greece during the given period, by focusing on the political, social, and economic impact of major historical events, such as the National Schism, the Asia Minor Catastrophe, the bankruptcy of 1932, the Axis Occupation, and the Greek Civil War (1946-1949), both at the central and the local level. In order to do so, special attention is given to the evolution of the legal and institutional framework, local government finances, the conduct of local elections, and the activity carried out by municipalities and communities, either individually or collectively. The thesis draws from a wide range of archival material, the most important among which are the publications in the official Government Gazette, the Greek Parliament records, municipal archives, especially the meeting minutes of the Athens City Council, politicians’ private papers, the meeting minutes of the steering committee of the union of Greek municipalities and communities, and its conferences’ proceedings.
Main subject category:
History
Keywords:
local government, Eleftherios Venizelos, Athens, local elections, administrative reforms, municipalities, communities, union of municipalities and communities of Greece, post-war reconstruction, Municipality of Athens
Number of references:
1429
