Previous Activities

GPSG Panel at the ECPR General Conference

Reykjavik, August 2011

“Post-Crisis Public Policy Reform in Southern Europe”

ECPR Section ID: 58

ECPR Section Title: Crisis Zone? State Quality and Democratic Quality in Southern Europe

This session is organised by the ECPR Standing Group in Southern European Politics.

Background: The recent economic crisis has exposed the high degree of vulnerability suffered by Southern EU (SEU) member states. Despite their 30-year long membership of the Union and their Eurozone participation, SEUs have been faced with speculative attacks in the financial markets, while Greece’s near-default has triggered pan-European debates (and subsequent political action) to avoid collapse. Moreover, the crisis has produced a wave of public policy reforms in SEUs, most notably Greece, reforms adopted in a faster pace than ever before and meeting with comparatively little societal and interest group resistance.

Aim & Key Questions: This panel aims to provide a platform for comparing the problems, solutions and challenges that Southern EU (SEU) member-states are facing. Its raison d’être is motivated by a set of interlinked questions that paper givers are encouraged to reflect on:

A. Which aspects of public policy in Southern Europe contributed to the crisis and to the fact that South European member states are the Eurozone‘s “weakest link”?

B. What has been the public policy response of the administrations in the region to the crisis, and what lessons can we learn from their response?

C. What does their response tell us about European public policy in terms of the Eurozone’s ability to reform public administration structures?

D. What does the crisis tell us about the effectiveness of EU’s soft law framework on public policy/administration in strengthening national policy-making capacity?

This panel is convened by the Greek Politics Specialist Group (GPSG) of the Political Studies Association, UK.

Panel chairs:

Dr Stella Ladi, Panteion University, Athens, Greece: stellaladi@gmail.com

Dr Dimitris Tsarouhas, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey: dimitris@bilkent.edu.tr

Panel Discussant: Professor Leonardo Morlino, Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane, Italy

Papers:

C. Paraskevopoulos (University of Macedonia), “Accounting for variation in the impact of and response to economic crisis in Greece & Portugal” – Paper abstract

B. Clements (University of Leicester) and K. Nanou (European University Institute), “Economic crisis and public attitudes towards domestic and EU institutions in Greece, Portugal and Spain” – Paper abstract

M. Matsaganis (Athens University of Economics & Business), “Economic crisis and welfare reform in Greece” – Paper Abstract

M. Clua-Losada (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona), “Spain’s goose chase: the flexibilisation of the labour market and the reduction of its public deficit under Zapatero’s presidency” – Paper abstract

Panel Website: http://www.ecprnet.eu/conferences/general_conference/reykjavik/panel_details.asp?panelid=262

December 2010

GPSG Fieldwork Competition Prize 2010

GREECE BEYOND THE CRISIS

As part of its Greece Beyond the crisis series, the Greek Politics Specialist Group (GPSG) recently launched its first research fieldwork competition. Applications were sought for any type of fieldwork on any aspect of the complex economic and social crisis facing Greece.

Following a highly competitive field of applications and a rigorous selection process, the Executive Committee of the GPSG is delighted to announce that the winner of the £400 prize is

Ms Eleni Christodoulou

ESRC Doctoral Researcher at the Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham.

Project title:

Greek Politics and Passion(s):

Reconstituting National Identity in the Midst of Financial Crisis

The panel commended Ms Christodoulou on a very strong and topical bid with a transparent and robust framework, a feasible research timeframe and a clear link between the funding and the primary research. A report on the findings of this research project will be published under the GPSG’s Working Paper series in the summer of 2011.

Download the abstract of the winning project

October 2009

GPSG Travel Grants for Young Scholars

The 4th LSE Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium

on Contemporary Greece and Cyprus

London, 25 & 26 June 2009

October 2009: GPSG Announces Prize Winners

As part of its core mission of promoting systematic research, supporting young scholars and strengthening the ties between the UK and Greek academic communities, the Greek Politics Specialist Group has awarded two £200 prizes to young researchers who presented their work at the 4th Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium at the London School of Economics.

Following June’s Call for Applications, we received a large number of applications, which were carefully reviewed by the GPSG panel. The standard was quite high and reaching a decision was not easy.

We are delighted to announce that the two winning papers are:

Manto Lampropoulou (School of Law, Economics & Political Sciences, Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Athens), “Public utilities reform in Greece: Privatization, market liberalization and implications for citizens as consumers”.

The panel was very impressed by the outstanding quality of Ms Lampropoulou’s work. The paper is well-researched and well-written and it puts forward a strong, persuasive and ultimately important argument.

Eleni Ganiti (School of History & Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), “The military dictatorship of April 1967 in Greece and its repercussion on the Greek visual arts scene”.

The panel particularly commended Ms Ganiti’s work for its originality and thorough documentation. Her paper constitutes a refreshing and informative perspective on an under-researched area and puts forward a clear and interesting argument.

The winning papers will be published on the Working Papers section of the GPSG website. The GPSG wishes to warmly congratulate both winners on their success.

Abstracts of winning papers

MANTO LAMPROPOULOU

Privatization, market liberalization and implications for citizens as consumers

Privatization and liberalization are the two complementary aspects of several reform projects in the field of public utilities. In Greece, since the mid-90’s, the telecommunications sector has undergone radical changes, responding to the new requirements of a market-oriented model, gradually introducing the privatization of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) and the opening of the state monopoly. An often neglected aspect of the reform is the implications for citizens as consumers. More “choice”, better quality and lower prices have been usually invoked as illustrations of the beneficial effects, under the general hypothesis of better performance. However, the “shift” is more intricate than the assumptions that a micro-economic perspective suggests.

This paper argues that the “citizen/consumer empowerment” is not a self-evident proposition of privatization or liberalization policies. It also proposes that the concept of citizens as consumers implies a selective –thus restricted- approach of the eventual benefit. The aim of the paper is to highlight the constraints and the pre-conditions of the “empowerment” argument, as well as to reveal potential asymmetries in terms of cost/benefit allocation of the reform outcomes.

ELENI GANITI

The military dictatorship of April 1967 in Greece

and its repercussion on the Greek visual arts scene

The 21st of April, 1967 has been a portentous date in the history of modern Greece, as a group of right–wing army officers seized power, imposing a regime of military dictatorship, also known as the Regime of the Colonels or the Junta. The dictatorship came after a period of political instability in the country, intercepting the normal course of things at the political, social and economical sector. This kind of disorder could not leave the cultural life of the country unaffected. The imposing of the dictatorship had a strong impact on the evolution of the visual arts in Greece, mainly because it came at a time when Greek art, for the first time in the modern years, was finding its pace. The desire for synchronization with the international art was being finally fulfilled and for the first time Greek artists were part of the international avant guard. The visual arts scene was flourishing, the audience’s interest was growing and the future seemed promising and optimistic. Then the Junta came to interrupt this upswing. This paper explores:

i) the effects of the dictatorship on the Greek visual arts scene and the artistic production of the period

ii) the reaction of the art world

through exhibitions and works of Greek artists that were created and exhibited in the country during the seven years of the Military Regime.

May 2009

GPSG Papers at the International Conference

“The Challenge of Reform in Greece, 1974-2009:

8-10 May 2009, Yale University, USA

Theme: “The Politics of Reform in Greece and the Role of Europeanization”

Dr. Stella Ladi (Greek Ministry of the Interior & Sheffield University, UK), “Soft Europeanization and Institutional Reform: The Transfer of the Ombudsman Institution to Greece”

Dr. Dimitris Tsarouhas (Bilkent University), “Intentions, Policies, Impasse: PASOK and Welfare Reform in Greece”

Summary and Abstracts

IMAGES OF NATIONS: STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION,
SOFT POWER AND THE MEDIA

This international conference brought together leading academics and practitioners in order to examine the construction and management of nations’ images through such practices as media representation, public diplomacy, nation branding, soft power and strategic communications.

More information

January 2009

Joint Conference of the

French Politics and Policy, German Politics, Greek Politics, and Italian Politics Specialist Groups

“The Changing Constellation of the Enlarging EU”

23 January 2009, Durham University

Supported by the PSA’s Specialist Activities Fund

GPSG Papers at the Durham Conference:

Dr. Dimitris Tsarouhas (Assistant Professor, Bilkent University), “Turkey and the Future of EU Enlargement”

Dr. Stella Ladi (Public Policy Expert, Greek Ministry of the Interior), “Europeanization and Policy Transfer: A Comparative Study of Policy Change in Greece and Cyprus”

Dr. Diana Bozhilova (A.C. Laskaridis Research Fellow, Hellenic Observatory, LSE), “Bulgaria’s Accession, Industrial Restructuring and Greek FDI”

Vasilis Leontitsis (PhD Candidate, University of Sheffield), “Decentralising Greece Against the Background of the EU”

Summary and Abstracts

July 2006

Greek Politics Specialist Group panel at the

Fukuoka, Japan

with the support of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)

The 20th World Congress of the IPSA was held in Fukuoka, Japan, in July 2006. The theme of the conference was “Is Democracy Working?” and featured a number of important contributions from leading scholars.

The Greek Politics Specialist Group of the UK’s Political Studies Association convened a special panel on Greek politics, which featured three papers:

1.  “Civic Participation, Voting and Communication in Greek Democracy” by M. Zisouli, Dr. E. Apospori and Prof. G. Avlonitis (Athens University of Economics and Business)
2. “Political Competition: The Case of Candidates” by Prof. Th. Chadjipadelis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)
3. “Differences in Voting Behavior” by Dr. I. Andreadis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki).

We would like to thank the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their kind and generous support, which was vital for our presence at the IPSA Congress in Japan.

June 2005

Financial support for young scholars presenting at

The LSE Hellenic Observatory’s 2nd PhD Symposium on Modern Greece

The 2nd PhD Symposium of the Hellenic Observatory at the LSE’s European Institute took place on June 10th, 2005.

Following a thorough process of selection, the Greek Politics Specialist Group awarded three small grants to young scholars from regional Greece presenting papers at the Symposium. The three successful presenters were Maria Xenitidou (SEERC, Thessaloniki); Kyriakos S. Hatzaras (Ideologikon, Thessaloniki) and Vaso Papageorgiou (University of the Aegean).

The event itself was very successful with many interesting panels and papers, as well as three immensely enjoyable keynote speeches. In his opening plenary speech, Professor Stathis Kalyvas (Yale University) presented some interesting data regarding the make-up of political science faculties and departments in Greece. Prof. Nikolaos Zahariadis (University of Alabama at Birmingham) then demonstrated the contradictions and dilemmas of the ‘Macedonian Question’ and of Greek Foreign Policy. The Symposium concluded with a keynote speech by Prof. Nicos Mouzelis (LSE) who took the audience on a journey to modern and post-modern theorizing.

Many GPSG members attended and presented at the event, while the Group’s Convenor, Roman Gerodimos, also chaired a panel on domestic politics. The full text of the papers presented in the Symposium can be found on the Hellenic Observatory’s website.