‘The Germans are back’: Euroscepticism and anti-Germanism in crisis-stricken Greece

Michailidou, Asimina

doi:10.1080/14608944.2015.1113242

Cited by 35 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Though Greeks never wanted to leave the EU, they were – and remain – angry with the way the EU, especially Germany, and their own governments managed the crisis and with the imposition of austerity measures. Greek euroscepticism during the crisis connects to broader clashes between the people and the elites (Michailidou, 2017), to which we now turn.…”

Section: Euroscepticismmentioning

confidence: 93%

A Decade of Crisis in the European Union: Lessons from Greece*

Κατσανίδου

Lefkofridi

2020

J of Common Market Studies

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In 2004 few could imagine Greece on the brink of state bankruptcy. Greece featured in the global news as the proudly successful host of the Olympic Games, it had successfully joined the Euro and was enjoying economic growth. This euphoria would end with the global financial crisis that followed the 2008 Lehman Brothers' collapse. When the private rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Greek government bonds to junk status in 2010 the eurozone was ill-prepared to deal with it. Eurozone membership had given countries with high inflation records, like Greece, the opportunity to borrow at a favourable interest rate to fund their current account deficits. Eurozone members initially perceived Greece's troubles not as 'European' but as 'domestic' (Lefkofridi and Schmitter, 2015). The Greek crisis was diagnosed as being caused by domestic factors, such as low competitiveness, low revenues, high government spending and rent-seeking (Axt, 2010). Dismissing both the role played by governments and banks in countries other than Greece and the global context (Flassbeck, 2012; Krugman, 2012), discussions raged about lending to 'lazy' and 'corrupt' Greeks, who had been living 'beyond their means' (Endres, 2010; Jonker-Hoffrén, 2013). When market confidence in the bonds of other eurozone members (Irish, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish) started declining as well, these countries were quick to reassure both markets and their eurozone partners that they were not 'another Greece' (Wachman, 2010). In this context, country differences were reduced to 'cultural characteristics and habits', as reflected in stereotypes of laziness, non-productivity, corruption, wasteful spending and lying (Van Vossole, 2016). A new acronym for a group of troubled countries-Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spainentered public discourse: 'PIIGS'. In the meantime, a huge market of credit default swaps had developed, in which speculators treated sovereign public debt as if it were equivalent to private corporate debt. In denial of their interdependence that necessitated solidarity, eurozone leaders opted to attribute blame to minimize electoral costs at home. By 2011, the eurozone had become deeply divided and the Eurothe second strongest currency in the worldfell hostage to the domestic politics of its member states. A potential Greek bankruptcy was dangerous for the European banks that held most of the Greek debt, which would then need to be bailed out with taxpayers' money. Given power asymmetries, however, non-indebted eurozone members had more space for * The authors would like to thank Yevhen Voronin for his invaluable help as research assistant at GESIS and the enriching feedback of the editors of the Annual Review.

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Section: Euroscepticismmentioning

confidence: 93%

A Decade of Crisis in the European Union: Lessons from Greece*

Κατσανίδου

Lefkofridi

2020

J of Common Market Studies

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“…Studies of Greek media under the crisis (e.g. Lialiouti and Bithymitris, 2017; Michailidou, 2017; Tzogopoulos, 2012) brought to light two discursive themes that prevailed in the Greek public sphere. One was a nationalist narrative, which presented the Troika’s economic intervention as “foreign occupation” seriously intruding on Greek sovereignty (Lialiouti and Bithymitris, 2017).…”

Section: South Korea In 1997–1998 and Greece In 2009–2010mentioning

confidence: 99%

The politics of anti-austerity protest: South Korea in 1997–1998 and Greece in 2009–2010

Lee

2021

International Journal of Comparative Sociology

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Why does austerity confront varying degrees of popular resistance? While prior research primarily addresses the economic threat of austerity as the stimulus for anti-austerity protest, a growing volume of studies highlights the roles of external environments in moderating the mobilizing effect of austerity. This study challenges the recent literature on the moderating role of external environments, pointing out that it tends to overlook the distinction between structural and contingent aspects of external environments. I undertake a paired comparison of carefully chosen cases, South Korea in 1997–1998 and Greece in 2009–2010, to examine the moderating roles of the two aspects of external environments—each aspect is characterized through the notion of political opportunity drawing on Rootes’ work. Results reveal that structural and contingent opportunities played distinct roles in promoting (Greece) and hampering (South Korea) the growth of anti-austerity movements, initially triggered by the economic threat of austerity in both countries.

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“…This is especially relevant when foreign countries or international economic institutions are actively involved in the management of economic crises or transformations. In such cases, national framing becomes associated with arguments about the loss of national dignity and independence as well as denunciations of domestic opponents as "traitors" of the national cause (Michailidou 2017).…”

Section: Economy and Nationalism As Political Discoursementioning

confidence: 99%

Nationalism and Economy

Fetzer¹

2020

Nationalities Papers

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This article reviews recent literature concerned with the analysis of the relationship between nationalism and economy. First, it discusses scholarship advocating a new understanding of the concept of “economic nationalism” beyond its traditional focus on protectionist state policies. Second, the article branches out to consider a more interdisciplinary body of literature addressing the nationalism-economy nexus, and it relates this literature to broader debates in nationalism studies, distinguishing between three prominent approaches in the discipline: nationalism as political movement and ideology; nationalism as political discourse; and everyday nationalism. The article concludes with suggestions for future research.

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‘The Germans are back’: Euroscepticism and anti-Germanism in crisis-stricken Greece

Cited by 35 publications

References 29 publications

A Decade of Crisis in the European Union: Lessons from Greece*

A Decade of Crisis in the European Union: Lessons from Greece*

The politics of anti-austerity protest: South Korea in 1997–1998 and Greece in 2009–2010

Nationalism and Economy

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