Greece in the 21st Century: The Politics and Economics of a Crisis

Description

For most of the first part of the 21st century Greece has been seen as a critical battlefield for the survival of the powerful and the adjustment or extinction of the weak, as if all the historical contradictions of the global financial crisis and the eurozone crisis were concentrated in that tiny part of the world, with a population of just 11 million people and a GDP of less than 2% of that of the European Union as a whole. While the country has been overpowered by the disciplinarian and deeply authoritarian policy mix of ordoliberal/neoliberal rules, as this book attempts to show, there is hope. Defeat does not end the crisis, and crisis means constant opportunity. In this state of affairs, all types of agencies try to take advantage of the conditions and opportunities in order to advance towards positions of power and provide the best of solutions for the class interests they represent. Thus, harsh conflict is inevitable and if history provides a yardstick, it is that in periods of conflict and crisis, the winner, usually, is the one who manages to strike the right political and social alliances at the right time. The editors have assembled in this volume a number of interdisciplinary chapters and arguments which, despite their differences, share the strategic aim of a critique of both neoliberalism/ordoliberalism and new authoritarianism. Chapters examine the eurozone crisis from a variety of angles with reference to Greece, and Greek politics and society. With this collection of heterodox and scholarly essays, the authors and editors aim to offer a progressive understanding of current historical circumstances. Constantine Dimoulas is an Assistant Professor in social administration and evaluation of social programmes at Panteion University, Greece. Vassilis K. Fouskas is Professor of international politics and economics at the University of East London, UK, and the founding editor of the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies (Taylor & Francis). Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of illustrations List of contributors Abbreviations Introduction and Acknowledgments: What’s in the Greek Cauldron? I II III Notes References 1. Eurozone Authoritarianism and the Neoliberal Project in Greece and Southern Europe Class Compromise and Social Cohesion The ‘Global Plan’ and its Limits Architects of the Minotaur’s Labyrinth The Many-Headed Hydra of Money Capital Predatory Raiding and War The Eurozone as a Playground for Hot Money Redefining the Crash The French Drift to Authoritarianism References 2. Sovereign Debt or Balance-of-Payments Crisis?: Exploring the Structural Logic of Adjustment in the Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis or Balance of Payments Crisis? The Structural Logic of Adjustment in the Eurozone Balance-of-Payments Imbalances and Macroeconomic Policy-Making in a Single Currency Conclusion Acknowledgements Notes References 3. Greece and the Crisis of the Eurozone: A Structural Analysis Introduction The unfolding of the crisis The fiscal rationale of the eurozone crisis The global financial crisis and asymmetric shocks The eurozone crisis as a crisis of competitiveness Germany and the problem, for the others, of the ‘n-1’country Conclusion Notes References 4. Is There Really a Eurozone Crisis? Alternative explanations of the eurozone crisis Is there a eurozone crisis? Conclusion Notes References 5. Competing Explanations and Strategies for the Greek Crisis and the Question of the Productive Model Introduction Competing explanations of the Greek crisis Antagonistic strategies for overcoming the crisis and the issue of productive restructuring References 6. Internal Devaluation and Hegemonic Crisis (2010–16) Introduction Internal Devaluation and Economic Depression Social Reproduction Crisis Political Hegemony Crisis Uncertainty and Social Conflict Notes References 7. The ‘Politics of Fulfilment’ as Preliminary for the Making of a Precarious State in Greece Introduction Convergences and divergences in the Greek socioeconomic model To the Memorandum, via Max Weber To the Europeanization of the Memoranda, via Greece Politics of Fulfilment and Self-fulfilling prophecies The precarious state Final Remarks Notes References 8. The Political Effects of the Greek Economic Crisis: The Collapse of the Old Two-Party System The breakdown of the old two-party system, 2000–09 The impact of the economic crisis ‘Two-plus’ or ‘pluralist’? A party system-in-crisis Conclusion Notes References 9. Blaming the Other: An Enquiry into the Cultural and Political Preconditions of the Greek Crisis Introduction The elusive self-understanding The elusive communication The elusive reform Bibliography Index