https://toarcheio.org To Archeio project site Mon, 20 Apr 2020 14:41:41 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.4.1 https://toarcheio.org/items/philanthropy-or-solidarity-ethical-dilemmas-about-humanitarianism-in-crisis-afflicted-greece/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:44 +0000 http://arc.local/items/philanthropy-or-solidarity-ethical-dilemmas-about-humanitarianism-in-crisis-afflicted-greece/ Continued]]> That philanthropy perpetuates the conditions that cause inequality is an old argument shared by thinkers such as Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde and Slavoj Žižek. I recorded variations of the same argument in local conversations regarding growing humanitarian concern in austerity‐ridden Greece. Local critiques of the efficacy of humanitarianism, which I explore here ethnographically, bring to the fore two parallel possibilities engendered by the ‘humanitarian face’ of solidarity initiatives: first, their empowering potential (where solidarity initiatives enhance local social awareness), and second, the de‐politicisation of the crisis (a liability that stems from the effectiveness of humanitarianism in ameliorating only temporarily the superficial consequences of the crisis). These two possibilities – which I treat as simultaneous and interrelated – can help us appreciate the complexity and social embeddedness of humanitarian solidarity in times of austerity.

]]> https://toarcheio.org/items/the-ambivalence-of-anti-austerity-indignation-in-greece-resistance-hegemony-and-complicity/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:30 +0000 http://arc.local/items/the-ambivalence-of-anti-austerity-indignation-in-greece-resistance-hegemony-and-complicity/ Continued]]> This article engages with a contradiction that can help us appreciate the ambiguity and complexity of indirect resistance as this is articulated in informal everyday contexts: many citizens in Greece boldly challenge the antisocial austerity measures that have plagued their lives, highlighting how these represent a hegemonic imposition led by foreign centres of economic power. Their anti-hegemonic critique, however, often recycles a dislike for foreigners and xenophobia, echoing more pervasive hegemonic narratives (for example, a crypto-colonial identification of Greece with the West). To deal with this contradiction, I stress the need to (1) de-pathologize local indignant discourse (avoiding the orientalization of anti-austerity discourse as emotional or inconsequential) and (2) acknowledge that indirect resistance may represent an astute critique of visible inequalities, but is not isolated from overarching hegemonic ideological influences that shape local interpretations of historical/economic causality.

]]> https://toarcheio.org/items/the-poetics-of-indignation-in-greece-anti-austerity-protest-and-accountability/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:30 +0000 http://arc.local/items/the-poetics-of-indignation-in-greece-anti-austerity-protest-and-accountability/ https://toarcheio.org/items/infuriated-with-the-infuriated-blaming-tactics-and-discontent-about-the-greek-financial-crisis/ Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:22 +0000 http://arc.local/items/infuriated-with-the-infuriated-blaming-tactics-and-discontent-about-the-greek-financial-crisis/ Continued]]> The austerity measures introduced as a response to the recent financial crisis in Greece have inspired a wave of discontent among local Greek actors. The latter declared themselves as “indignant” or “infuriated” with the austerity measures. Their indignation, as I demonstrate in this article, has been expressed in terms of diverse arguments that have either encouraged public protest or served as a critique of the protest in culturally intimate contexts. Here, I argue that the critical local discourse about the austerity measures does not merely represent an attempt to evade responsibility but a serious concern with accountability and the unsettling of moral community, which leads local actors to pursue their own interpretative trajectories. The resulting interpretations, in all their diversity, and despite the fact that they do not directly affect political decisions, provide local actors with a sense of discursive empowerment against their perceived peripheralization.

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