Politics In Modern Greece

A Stanford University Press classic.

This volume is the authoritative Handbook guide to the development of Greek politics, economy, and society from the period of the fall of the Colonels' Regime (1974) to the present day, including the causes and consequences of the crisis in Greece and the aftermath of the crisis, in comparative and historical perspective.

The entire world turned its focus toward the troubled nation, waiting for the possibility of a Greek exit from the European Monetary Union and its potential to unravel the entire Union, with other weaker members heading for the exit as well. The effects of Greece's crisis are also tied up in the global arguments about austerity, with many viewing it as necessary medicine, and still others seeing austerity as an intellectually bankrupt approach to fiscal policy that only further damages weak economies. In Modern Greece: What Everyone Needs to Know, Stathis Kalyvas, an eminent scholar of conflict, Europe, and Greece combines the most up-to-date economic and political-science findings on the current Greek crisis with a discussion of Greece's history.

The book draws extensively on research on modern Greece in recent decades, and on the many perceptive commentaries on recent events in the Greek press. It adopts both an analytical and chronological approach and shows how Greece has both converged with western Europe and remained distinctively Balkan. David Close writes clearly and forcefully, and presents a lively picture of the Greek political system, economic development, social changes and foreign relations. Aimed at readers coming to the subject for the first time, this is a readable and informative introduction to contemporary Greece.

Modern Greece: A History since 1821 is a chronologicalaccount of the political, economic, social, and cultural history ofGreece, from the birth of the Greek state in 1821 to 2008 by twoleading authorities. Pioneering and wide-ranging study of modern Greece, whichincorporates the most recent Greek scholarship Sets the history of modern Greece within the context of a broadgeo-political framework Includes detailed portraits of leading Greek politicians Provides in-depth considerations on the profound economic andsocial changes that have occurred as a result of Greece’s EUmembership

The Oxford Handbook of Modern Greek Politics is a major new contribution to the study of contemporary European and Greek politics. This edited volume contains 43 chapters written by Greek and foreign academics foremost in their field. After an introductory section, offering a frame of analysis, the volume includes sections on political institutions, traditions and party families, political and social interest groups, policy-making and policy sectors, external relations, and Greece's most important political leaders of the period between the 1974 transition to democracy and today. It will be an invaluable reference for scholars, new and established, as well as for the informed reader around the world. This work offers the most comprehensive approach to the subject to this day. Drawing on data and analysis previously available only in national sources (Greek books, articles, and other primary and secondary sources), in combination with international data, it allows international scholars of politics, international relations, society, and economy to integrate the case of Greece in their own projects; and facilitates the search of any informed reader who seeks a reliable, updated source on Modern Greece.

This clear, balanced book explores the dilemma of Greece, the font of European civilization. Despite its classical past and EU membership, Greece has been unable to escape the limbo of being nearly developed. Illuminating the impact of borrowed western institutions on Greeces traditional culture, the authors analyze the paralyzing consequences: a political process dependent on personal relations and a civil society dominated by a highly centralized bureaucracy. State dominance, Legg and Roberts argue, has turned politics primarily into a struggle for office. This emphasis on political conflict has allowed politicians and their supporters to employ emotional nationalist rhetoric to flout democratic rules and to avoid genuine issues. Concluding that the Greek political systems nature precludes real reform, the authors show how EU opportunities for both economic and political reform have been largely lost. Unfortunately, the aspects of Greeces nearly developed status are mirrored in eastern European states with similar pasts. Indeed, the authors warn that the Greece of today may be the future of many of its neighbors. }This clear, balanced book explores the dilemma of Greece, the font of European civilization. Despite its classical past and EU membership, Greece has been unable to escape the limbo of being nearly developed. Illuminating the impact of borrowed western institutions on Greeces traditional culture, the authors analyze the paralyzing consequences: a political process dependent on personal relations and a civil society dominated by a highly centralized bureaucracy. State dominance, Legg and Roberts argue, has turned politics primarily into a struggle for office. This emphasis on political conflict has allowed politicians and their supporters to employ emotional nationalist rhetoric to flout democratic rules and to avoid genuine issues. Concluding that the Greek political systems nature precludes real reform, the authors show how EU opportunities for both economic and political reform have been largely lost. Unfortunately, the aspects of Greeces nearly developed status are mirrored in eastern European states with similar pasts. Indeed, the authors warn that the Greece of today may be the future of many of its neighbors.