War and Peace in the Strategy of the Communist Party of Greece, 1945-1949

Using archival sources that only recently have become available, this article focuses on the interplay between the concepts of war and peace in the strategy of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) during the Greek Civil War of the late 1940s. The article demonstrates that the choices facing the KKE and its opponents changed quite dramatically in the period from 1945 to 1949. The active role of Great Britain in Greek domestic affairs and the relatively limited role of the Soviet Union meant that the KKE was increasingly ostracized in the international community. The unwillingness of the Greek Liberal Party to forge a political alliance with the KKE prompted the Communists to resume their armed struggle for power. This article presents the alternatives facing the KKE in light of the postwar domestic and international contexts.