1. Introduction: A Note on Populism in Crisis-ridden Greece
- Author:
- Kostas Ifantis and Dimitrios Triantaphyllou
- Publication Date:
- 10-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
- Abstract:
- This is a collection of essays on Greece during a crisis that has already lasted more than eight years. A group of scholars discusses several aspects of the grand failure that is Greece since 2009. It is by no means a comprehensive treatise of what went so wrong and why a country that is still among the most developed and wealthy in the world cannot bounce back, reform itself, and deliver the public goods to its citizens. Although it is not explicit, a careful reading of the papers reveals an underlying theme. A populist wave finally swept Greece in early 2015 and nearly destroyed the old political guard. The post- Junta political, social and economic consensus that served as a bulwark for rapid democratization and modernization came under enormous pressure from extreme right and extreme left bullies. Civil War discourse and oratory was used to target political opponents and pseudo-revolutionary voluntarism was offered as the anti-European and anti-elite solution to the country’s misery. The justified rage became violent outbursts with the agents of populism barely hiding their satisfaction
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Greece