The Greek Revolution, A Critical Dictionary, Paschalis M. Kitromilides, Constantinos Tsoukalas, March 25, 2021

xxiii
Foreword
Greece do not belong to the West. No one is justified in disputing the fact that
Greece, already at the point of attainment of its in de pen dence, was and remained
part of the West and, a fortiori, a true buttress of Western culture. The
history and geo graph i cal position of Greece attest to and irrefutably substantiate
the first conclusion. The nation- state of Greece is the West’s outer
boundary to the East. This increases the significance of Greece as part of the
West in proportion to the fact that, due to its geo graph i cal position and its
cultural origins, it is in a position to keep its gaze turned eastward, thus facilitating
the cultural dialogue between East and West. In this manner, it confutes
the claims of the alleged “clash of civilizations” and channels this cultural dialogue
into the protection of peace, by building bridges and enabling the unimpeded
communication between cultures. All this takes on a new and cardinal
importance in our turbulent times.
Our second conclusion points to the significance of the model of the Greek
nation- state, established in 1830 in the form that was to become a general model
of state organ ization, as the solid foundation on which the Eu ro pean edifice
should be based, as the Eu ro pean Union progresses to its eventual complete
integration. Therefore, the Eu ro pean Union may and should be or ga nized as a
federal state defined by the princi ple of representative democracy, which, in
turn, is founded on the rule of law and the protection of fundamental human
rights. This federal state, thus configured, would mold an au then tic Eu ro pean
consciousness in the minds of the citizens of the member states. Hence, in this
framework, the central organs of Eu ro pean democracy will possess extensive
powers customarily accorded to federal states, thus enabling the Eu ro pean
Union to fulfill its global historical mission of defending the values of peace,
democracy, and social justice. Every member state, in its capacity as a nationstate,
will irrevocably retain its inalienable distinctive national characteristics
that determine its autonomy and self- government and define the horizon of its
historical origins and prospects. In the course of this unfolding of history, every
nation- state will make consciously and generously its “Eu ro pean contribution”
in order to ensure the perpetual enrichment of Eu ro pean democracy and European
culture.
The Greek national revolution led to the emergence of modern Greece as a
nation- state in its exemplary form and thus possessed a far- reaching significance
for the Eu ro pean context as a whole. If we examine and assess the Greek
Revolution in this perspective we might be able to appreciate it as an important
turning point in the history of modern Eu rope and recognize further in it
the dynamic of the appropriate acceleration of the construction of the Eu ropean
edifice as it builds toward its final completion; a completion desirable for
more than one reason.