reforms – To Archeio

Austerity Discourses in “Der Spiegel” Journal, 2009–2014

apostolos — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:54 +0000

This article looks at the ways mainstream media discuss austerity and its failure to reach its
proclaimed goals, to reduce public debt and to boost productivity in the heavily indebted countries of
the Eurozone’s periphery. This study analyzed Der Spiegel’s articles presenting the crisis and austerity in Europe, focusing on the Greek case, from 2009 until 2014. A thematic analysis was developed in
the study a broad corpus of articles, focusing on the main ideas they unfold. Deploying critical political
economy literature, critical cultural theory and critical media studies literature, the article criticizes the
neoliberal hegemony of the EU’s crisis politics and foregrounds the role of mainstream media, including progressivist or objectivist ones such as Spiegel, in the reproduction of neoliberal ideas that expand far beyond the crisis, to produce the institutions, social relations, beliefs and subjectivities for a
post-crisis configuration of capitalism. The article concludes that Spiegel, like other mainstream media,
produce a biopolitical policing of the crisis’ exceptionalized subjects (the citizens of indebted countries)
and the implementation of crisis-politics by creating a public “structure of feeling” related to the hegemonic crisis’ rationales. These rationales are further connected to the development of the new neoliberal subjectivity, which is an objective of the crisis-reforms, such as austerity regimes. In effect, mainstream media discourses reproduce the hegemonic frames of the

Clientelism and economic policy: hybrid characteristics of collective action in Greece

apostolos — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:44 +0000

How does clientelism affect policy-making? Can patrons in government discard groups of clients in order to pursue reforms in conditions of crisis? The article argues that clientelism goes beyond the exchange of votes and may permeate organizations with the capacity for collective action such as labour unions. This merger gives rise to a clientelist-collective system that changes both patron–client relations and the context of collective action with important implications for the design of economic policy. As evidence from Greece shows, patrons in government are better off avoiding reforms that deprive their client groups of collective and personal benefits (clientelist bias in policy-making). Labour unions infiltrated by party clients have weak autonomy from the patron party but, operating inside the party network, they can effectively safeguard their access to club goods. Interdependent preferences and organizational linkages between the patron party and its client organizations favour collaboration and co-optation over open confrontation in policy-making processes.

From bad to worse? Reflections on the crisis in Greece and in Europe

apostolos — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:27 +0000

What are the consequences of the radical measures taken in Greece since the beginning of the crisis? thile discussing the positve and negatve efects of the Troika therapǇ in Greece, this essaǇ gives an overview of the politcal situaton in Greece and Europe, and discusses the dangers for democracǇ in the EU.

Understanding the Crisis in Greece: From Boom to Bust

apostolos — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:10 +0000

As the tensions in the Greek economy take centre stage in the international headlines, this book examines the failed policies and political corruption that have bankrupted the nation. The authors comment on recent bailouts and haircuts and explore the uncertain future of Greece in the Eurozone.