Open AccessAntidote to Civil War?
Author(s) -
Ioannis Stefanidis
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
studia historyczne
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0025-1429
DOI - 10.12797/sh.61.2018.02.05
Subject(s) - legitimacy , political science , democracy , spanish civil war , rhetoric , peacetime , democratic legitimacy , political economy , law , sociology , politics , philosophy , linguistics
This paper seeks to reopen the question of legitimacy, and in particular democratic legitimacy, as an important factor affecting the course of European ‘small states’ involved in World War II. It draws attention to previously neglected or understudied but crucial aspects of wartime legitimacy, eminently the role of recognition by foreign powers, the rhetoric of the ‘Big Three’ Allies regarding post-war Europe, and the relevance of democratic legitimacy as a powerful antidote to civil conflict during the period of transition into peacetime.