About this blog: Greece has long had delicate
relationships with its partners in the global community, wary of
dominance and foreign intervention. Its economic crisis is the latest showdown with foreign powers, in this case its European neighbors, particularly Germany. James Edward Miller, an adjunct professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, has written extensively on the U.S.-Greek relationship in his book “The United States and the Making of Modern Greece: History and Power, 1950-1974,” published by the University of North Carolina Press. Here, he assesses the steep hurdles facing Greece and Europe as the Greek crisis deepens.

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Greece’s economic implosion is an immense human tragedy. It is hardly the first time the Greek people have faced a disaster of their own creation.

For two centuries Western diplomats routinely complained about the difficulties of dealing with Greece’s politicians and civil servants, the corruption and inefficiency of governments, and Greek disregard of rules and obligations.

Modern Greece was born in debt and grand illusions. Its economy is too small to operate without foreign investment. Politicians, the press, and the education system encourage Greeks to pursue objectives well beyond the nation’s strength.

Greeks have tended to justify their frequent refusal to accept restraint by complaining about ruthless foreign intervention in their internal affairs and to stress their uniqueness, pointing, above all, to Greek contributions to the creation of Western civilization. Greek exceptionalism is deeply xenophobic, currently directed against Germany and perennially aimed at Turkey.

Europeans have good reasons to question whether Greece belongs in Europe and equally good ones to insist that Greece operate under the strictest possible international controls if it intends to retain membership in the Eurozone.

That said, Greek exceptionalism is rooted in Europe’s treatment of Greece as a special case. Mixing romantic thinking and hard political calculation, Europeans created a Greek state between 1827 and 1833. Thereafter, they supported Greek expansion as long as its did not threaten to engender a major war or their individual interests.

When Greece defaulted on its financial obligations, the powers intervened, placing Greece under European oversight. One country usually served as Greece’s patron. “Europe” assumed this role in the late 1970s, when France supported Greek membership in the European Community in the face of the EC executive’s opposition.

Patronage, always central to Greek politics, expanded exponentially under Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou who used various forms of blackmail to win European bankrolling for his party’s patronage machine.

Greeks became accustomed to seeing Europe cover its budgetary shortfalls. In 2002, the European Union, on the basis of cooked data, invited Greece to join the common currency. The EU’s imprimatur encouraged bank loans, and foreign investment. A bullish Greece engaged in an orgy of patronage spending on Olympic venues.

When the Greek economy collapsed in 2008, Germany, as Europe’s major financial player, decided to use the opportunity to remake the Greek national character. Challenging the Greek patronage system, the Germans and their EU partners insist that in order to win further loans, the state, the largest part of the economy, drastically reduce its budget, sack an estimated 15,000 employees, change its pension system, and accept European control of its economy and policy for the long term.

The strategy is breathtaking and fatally flawed. By forcing Greece into poverty in exchange for limited and grudging economic aid, Germany has undercut public confidence in European institutions and the common currency.

Moreover, remaking the Greek character is beyond German capacity and complicates efforts to convince Greeks to accept needed reforms. Austerity enforced by foreign governments plays to the Greek exceptionalist belief that it is the heroic martyr nation, and that determined resistance to Turks, Bulgarians and Nazi Germany ultimately ended with Greece triumphing.

Already, Greeks are engaged in street violence and various forms of passive resistance. Greece’s political parties, with one eye on expected spring elections, are quietly encouraging this resistance while they assure the powers of their willingness to implement austerity.

The Greek government, employing passive resistance, has not implemented austerity moves it promised under previous loan agreements. Europeans, particularly the Germans, should be asking whether Greece can successfully integrate into European institutions.

Turning Greece to an economic basket case but retaining its European membership means Germany will be paying for its recovery over the long term. A policy aimed at expanding Greece’s economy would work to Germany’s advantage and to that of Greece.

Greeks are excellent human material but deploying them will require large scale spending on the weaknesses of their educational system, especially second-rate universities, major infrastructural improvements, and major private foreign investments. Without this assistance, Greeks will continue to rely on their traditional patronage arrangements to survive.

Follow Steven Levingston on Twitter @SteveLevingston