The great depression of the inter-war years was the most profound shock ever to strike the world economy, and is widely held to have led directly to the collapse of parliamentary democracy in many countries. This scholarly study of Greece in the period between the two world wars, however, demonstrates that there was no simple correlation between economic and political crisis.

How was an underdeveloped country such as Greece able to recover so fast from this unprecedented economic crisis? Mark Mazower examines the complex processes involved, basing his analysis on detailed statistical research. Recovery, like crisis, threatened prevailing notions of the relationship between state and society, and undermined traditional ruling elites. Dr Mazower's challenging study makes an important contribution not only to the historiography of modern Greece, but also to our understanding of the interrelationship between politics, economics, and the democratic process.