Dynamics of Polarization in the Greek Case

Following the signing of the Prespa Agreement in June 2018, the Macedonian name issue became the most prominent topic on the Greek political agenda, catalysing an exceptional political confrontation and contributing to the realignment of political parties and eventually to government change. Analysing the political discourse and public debate on the issue from January 2018 until the July 2019 national elections, as well as opinion polls and electoral results, the paper explores the conditions leading to the escalation of political polarisation on the left/right axis, at the expense of smaller centrist parties. It is argued that political antagonism was built on the previous political cleavage (although the populist/anti-populism axis was now reversed). By mobilising public emotions around an alleged 'national threat', the polarisation around the Macedonian name issue proved far more successful for the Greek right than for the left.

Section: The Impact On Party Polarisationmentioning

confidence: 94%

Political Polarisation in Greece: The Prespa Agreement, Left/Right Antagonism and the Nationalism/Populism Nexus

Skoulariki¹

2020

“…The latter have changed in nature over time, with cleavages varying from left to right and from pro to anti-European, yet the element of polarisation has remained intact with opposing political forces depicting each other as 'enemies'. Following the country's prolonged financial crisis, Greece faced the Covid-19 crisis with its society and political system being deeply polarised once more (Andreadis & Stavrakakis 2019). As the Covid-19 crisis emerged, the relevant literature suggested two distinct alternatives vis-a-vis this phenomenon: either polarisation would recede for the sake of crisis management (a 'rally-around-the-flag' effect), or it would amplify the existing divisions leading to further polarisation (Chatzopoulou & Exadaktylos 2021, p. 4).…”

Section: Political Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regaining Trust: Evidence-Informed Policymaking during the First Phase of the Covid-19 Crisis in Greece

Ladi

Angelou

Panagiotatou

2021

Analysing the handling of the pandemic's first phase in Greece, the article attempts to explain the reasons for its relative success. It suggests four main reasons: First, the predominance of evidence-informed policymaking led by strong and decisive leadership. Second, a timely and firm crisis response, driven by the prior experience of other European countries with the pandemic. Third, the public sector's digital turn and a tight scheme of intra-government coordination. Fourth, a transparent and effective communication strategy signalling that public health was a priority, which subsequently led to high citizen compliance with the restrictive measures. The second phase of the pandemic is also discussed to nuance this claim and show that the long duration of the crisis brought new challenges to its management. The article provides insights into how countries with limited resources and weak administrative capacity can effectively manage such crises.

“…Consequently, both measures of support and rejection for political parties are combined to assess the strength of polarisation (Lauka, McCoy & Firat 2018). While the project includes a Greek case study (Andreadis & Stavrakakis 2019), the South European country that best fits the pernicious variant of polarisation is undoubtedly Erdogan's Turkey (Somer 2019;Aydın-Düzgit 2019;Aydın-Düzgit & Balta 2019;Verney, Bosco & Aydın-Düzgit 2019).…”

Section: Pernicious Polarisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polarisation in Southern Europe: Elites, Party Conflicts and Negative Partisanship

Bosco¹,

Verney

2020

The article complements our collection of studies of politics in polarised Southern Europe by offering a cross-regional comparison. Following a brief excursion into how polarisation in Southern Europe has been addressed in the existing literature, the focus zooms in on three country case studies. After showing the differential evolution of polarisation in Italy, Greece and Spain over recent decades, the story is brought up to date with an examination of the specific ways in which polarisation played out in the 2019 election cycle. marked by the Catalan conflict in Spain, the Macedonian name question in Greece and the polarising role of Matteo Salvini in Italy. The article concludes with comparative insights into the current polarisation drives in the three countries.