https://toarcheio.org To Archeio project site Thu, 30 Apr 2020 16:10:12 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.4.1 https://toarcheio.org/items/violence-and-extreme-right-activism-the-neo-nazi-golden-dawn-in-a-greek-rural-community/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:43 +0000 http://arc.local/items/violence-and-extreme-right-activism-the-neo-nazi-golden-dawn-in-a-greek-rural-community/ Continued]]> After years of marginal appeal in the electorate, Golden Dawn (GD), a hitherto minor grupuscule of the neo-fascist right, has experienced impressive and continuous electoral success in Greece since 2010. Ιn this paper, we focus on the micro-scale of local communities and explore how violence is used by a local activist in ways that attract sympathisers to GD. Employing ethnographic research in a rural community we observe an everyday rhetoric that gives GD a privileged position in the circulation of violence. We argue that, rather than being a collateral symptom of neo-fascist mobilisation, violence may under certain conditions be one of the strengths of extreme-right movements.

]]> https://toarcheio.org/items/the-rise-of-golden-dawn-the-new-face-of-the-far-right-in-greece-2/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:40 +0000 http://arc.local/items/the-rise-of-golden-dawn-the-new-face-of-the-far-right-in-greece-2/ Continued]]> The article examines the rise of the one of the most extremist political parties in Europe,
Golden Dawn. It sketches the historical trajectory of the Greek far right, examines the
ideological, organisational and voter profile of Golden Dawn, and offers possible
explanations for its breakthrough in the 2012 elections. The article shows how the
economic crisis has brought a massive realignment of the Greek electorate away from
mainstream parties, giving rise to anti-system and anti-immigrant sentiments. Golden
Dawn’s violent tactics have allowed the party to establish an anti-system and antiimmigrant
profile and capitalise on these sentiments. The party’s future will depend on its
capacity to absorb organisationally any future tensions between party pragmatists and
idealists.

]]> https://toarcheio.org/items/political-parties-and-immigration-in-greece-between-consensus-and-competition/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:26 +0000 http://arc.local/items/political-parties-and-immigration-in-greece-between-consensus-and-competition/ Continued]]> The article examines the immigration policy agendas of two Greek mainstream parties, centre right New Democracy (ND) and centre left PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Party) since 2000. Drawing on the analysis of parliamentary proceedings and key political texts, it first analyses areas of consensus and disagreement on the mainstream parties’ positions in relation to immigration control and citizenship. Second, it considers the impact of far right parties, namely, of the radical right Laikos Orthodoxos Synagermos and the extreme right Golden Dawn, on the immigration agendas and positions of the two mainstream parties in the context of the Greek austerity crisis. The article argues that despite a decline of trust, suggested by the recent electoral successes of the far right and other ‘fringe’ parties, and despite internal ideological strains, PASOK and ND did not ignore or divert attention away from the ‘immigration issue’. In contrast, they co-opted the far right agenda.

]]> https://toarcheio.org/items/they-became-big-in-the-shadow-of-the-crisis-the-greek-success-story-and-the-rise-of-the-far-right/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:23 +0000 http://arc.local/items/they-became-big-in-the-shadow-of-the-crisis-the-greek-success-story-and-the-rise-of-the-far-right/ Continued]]> Greece has been in ‘crisis’ for six consecutive years now and during this time living standards have dropped considerably for the majority of the population, strict austerity measures have been implemented and unemployment has reached a record figure of 27.8% (with a Eurozone average of 12%). At the same time, a ‘success story’ is prominent in dominant discourses where Greece is portrayed to have achieved a primary budget surplus and according to which the ‘worst has passed’. The dire consequences of austerity, the political polarisation of Greek society and the rise of the far-right party Golden Dawn (GD), however, indicate a much less positive picture. In this context, the article aims to problematise the complex nexus of relationships between the financial crisis and the re-emergence of the extreme right-wing party, GD. The discussion draws on an analysis of 1497 postings from the online website of the British newspaper, The Guardian. We focus on discourse strategies for attributing/resisting blame emerging from the analysis of the postings, but also as negotiated in two popular threads on the online discussion board. The article takes a critical stance and combines the discourse-historical approach with a micro analysis of the interaction. This allows us to pay special attention to the multiple layers of context and to combine the macro and the micro in the constructions of blame and sense making of the crisis. Analysis of the data shows that a range of actors is held responsible for the current situation, while the rise of GD is constructed both as a ‘product of’ and ‘movement against’ the crisis. We close the article with the implications of our study and areas for further research.

]]> https://toarcheio.org/items/the-rise-of-golden-dawn-the-new-face-of-the-far-right-in-greece/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:17 +0000 http://arc.local/items/the-rise-of-golden-dawn-the-new-face-of-the-far-right-in-greece/ Continued]]> The article examines the rise of the one of the most extremist political parties in Europe, Golden Dawn. It sketches the historical trajectory of the Greek far right, examines the ideological, organisational and voter profile of Golden Dawn, and offers possible explanations for its breakthrough in the 2012 elections. The article shows how the economic crisis has brought a massive realignment of the Greek electorate away from mainstream parties, giving rise to anti-system and anti-immigrant sentiments. Golden Dawn’s violent tactics have allowed the party to establish an anti-system and anti-immigrant profile and capitalise on these sentiments. The party’s future will depend on its capacity to absorb organisationally any future tensions between party pragmatists and idealists.

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