Toynbee describes a relationship in which weaker states can be manipulated without being wholly deceived. In his account, Greek and Turkish actors served the competing purposes of larger European powers, but they were not simply passive victims. The danger was visible to them: they understood that outside powers were pursuing their own interests and that accepting their support could carry serious risks.

The metaphor of the “bait” explains why awareness was not enough to prevent participation. Political ambitions and the prospect of gaining an advantage were sufficiently attractive to outweigh the recognised danger. Toynbee therefore combines exploitation with agency: powerful states could encourage others into hazardous courses of action, while those being used could knowingly accept the arrangement because it appeared to serve their own aims. The quotation has a wider application to decisions in which people or states recognise a trap but enter it because the anticipated reward proves more compelling than the risk.

Full quotation

“The Greek and Turkish pawns carried on the game of the French and English players. This pawnplaying, however, has not been so odiously cold and disingenuous as an analysis makes it appear. The trap in which the victims have been caught in order to be exploited was not cunningly hidden. They rushed into it with their eyes open because they could not resist the bait.”