WHAT IS GREECE

Political History

• Independence 1830

• Territorial expansion 1861-1922

• Defeat and national consolidation 1922 -1940

• War and occupation 1940-44

• The civil war 1946-49

• A rump democracy 1950-67

• Military dictatorship 1967-74

• Transition to democracy and Europeanization 1974-2008

• Greece following the economic crisis

Political culture

• The role of geography• The Mediterranean – a sea-faring nation - the

Greek diaspora• The Balkans– a argumentative relationship with its

neighbors

• A society torn between East and West • (the westernmost part of East or the European

outpost in the Mediterranean?)• The perpetual conflict between modernity and

traditionalism• The temptation of an Orthodox arc

Political culture

• A rebel nation : the mistrust of the state• A tradition of disobedience • The inability of elites to present a solid

national project/narrative

• Nationalism as a cement of the state• The divide between Hellenism and Greekness• The Grand Idea: rebuilding the Byzantine

Empire

Political culture

• A society prone to internal conflicts• The National Schism(1915-16)• The civil war (1946-49)• Political contest in terms of “national treason”

• A besieged nation• Minorities – a potential enemy within• Becoming a multinational society

• The role of the state• A tradition of clientelism and patronage • The subservience of the administration to the ruling parties• Rent-seeking policies (appropriation by special interests)• Over-regulation dispersion of responsibilities and control

ΟΤΤΟ 1st , First King of Greece

The political system

• Absolute monarchy 1831-1844

• Constitutional monarchy 1844-1923

• The republican period 1924-1936

• The return of the monarchy 1936-1973

• The third republic 1974-

The characteristics of the political system

• A strong executive• (formerly) the Palace• Now the government (esp. the PM)

• A unitary state• Decisions taken in the capital• Weak de-centralization

• A majoritarian democracy• Single-party government• Few checks and balances

The characteristics of the political system

• Non-institutional actors• The (Orthodox) Church• The “foreign” factor

• The British Embassy• The U.S. role

• European integration• A way to modernize the country and consolidate

democracy• The euro- Economic Stability• The impact of the euro-zone crisis

• The electoral system(s)• A proportional system with a majority bonus• The manipulation of the electoral system by the

government in office

The birth of the party system

• The permanent swing between modernism and traditionalism – a permanent feature in the party system

• The weak “partis de notables” of the early 19th century

• Liberals and conservatives of the early 20th century

• The rise of the communist Left

• The “anti” element in Greek politics (royalists and anti-royalists, communists and anti-communists)

The post-WW II party system (till 1967)

• A united Right (almost continually in government)

• The divided liberal Center• In power only when united

• A Left (with the tacit support of the banned Communist party)

• A fluctuant personality-based party system

The party system after 1974

• The modernisation of the Right (New Democracy – K. Karamanlis)

• The divide between a gaullist and traditionalist wing and the liberal Europeanists

• The gradual elimination of the centrist parties• The rise of socialist PASOK

• Populism – a structural feature of the party• The divide between 3rd world socialism and European

social- democracy

• The legalization of the Communist Party• The divide between the official Communists and the

euro-communists

The party system till the Euro-crisis

• A polarized bipartisan system (New-Democracy – PASOK)

• The fight between two “worlds”

• Populist policies

• A marginalized Extreme Right

• The intellectual influence of the Left

The impact of the crisis in the society

• A new political dividing line: the bailout package (pr0- and anti-memorandum)

• Austerity and the collapse of the social state• The rejection of reforms• The rejection of the “corrupt” parties and

parliamentarism: the “Aganaktismenoi” (indignant ones)

• Radical populism• A rise in euroscepticism (esp. anti-German

feelings)• The offence to national sovereignty

The impact of the crisis in the party system

• The collapse of the governing parties• The disappearance of PASOK• The split in New Democracy.

• The rise of populist parties• Radical left Syriza• The extreme Right Independent Greeks (ANEL)

• The rise of the Nazi Right• Golden Dawn: a new political phenomenon

The 2012 elections

• The choice of austerity inside Europe• The reshaping of the political system• Syriza as the opposition• The consolidation of the extreme right

• The forced coexistence of the pro-European parties

• A three-party alliance torn by internal dissent

• The failure to deliver• The persistence of recession• The rejection of structural reforms

The 2015 elections

• The rejection of austerity• Politics of fear vs. politics of hope

• “Hope is coming”: the arrival of the anti-austerity and in-eurozone Syriza

• The unnatural alliance between radical right and radical left

• The Greek paradox: having the cake and eating it?

• A majority in favor of remaining in the euro• A majority against the bailout requirements• Can it lead to an EU change of policy?

Conclusions

• The permanent danger of being left aside

• Left utopias and anti-Western tirades

• Emigration: a response to the crisis

• Une societe bloquee?

Some useful reading

• Takis Pappas “Why Greece Failed”. Journal of Democracy, Vol. 24, n. 2 April 2013, pp 31-45

• Takis Pappas “ populism and crisis politics”. Palgrave, Mc Millan, 2014.

• David Close “Greece since 1945” 2nd ed. Routledge 2014

• Vasilopoulou- Halikiopoulou-Exadaktylo “Greece in Crisis: Austerity, Populism and the Politics of Blame”. Journal of Common Market Studies, Volume 52, Issue 2, pages 388–402, March 2014

• Stathis Kalyvas, George Pagoulatos, and Haridimos Tsoukas (eds). “From Stagnation to Forced Adjustment: Reforms in Greece, 1974–2010”. London: C. Hurst & Co, 2012.