The first Greek state and the origins of colonial governmentality -- Building the colonial state -- Law, colonialism and state formation -- Colonial knowledge and the making of Ionian governmentality -- "A true and hateful monopoly" : merchants and the state -- State finances and the cost of protection -- Building a modern state : public works and public spaces -- "Progress" : state policies for Ionian development -- Poverty, the state and the middle class -- The literati and the liberali : the making of the Ionian bourgeoisie -- Conclusion: 1864 : the end of colonial rule?
Summary
"Of the many European territorial reconfigurations to result from the Congress of Vienna, the Ionian State remains among the least understood. Xenocracy offers a much-needed account of the region during the ensuing half-century of oversight by Great Britain--a period that embodied all of the contradictions of British imperial expansion. Administrators deliberately pursued liberal reforms and fostered the growth of a middle class that was instrumental in building the colonial state. However, Ionian finances deteriorated and fissures appeared along class lines, presenting a significant threat to social stability. As author Sakis Gekas shows, the ordeal fueled an ambivalence toward Western Europe, anticipating the 'neocolonial' condition with which the Greek nation struggles even today"--Publisher's website
