Uneven Development: Lessons from the Ongoing Greek Tragedy

Velegrakis, Giorgos; Andritsos, Thanos; Poulios, Dimitris

doi:10.1177/194277861500800305

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Hence I think that the empirical context in which I pose and ground my theoretical attempt to explain “how social imaginaries can be decolonized,” not only justifies the use of the term “decolonization” but it can also push the discussion a bit further. Greece has been subjected to processes of neocolonialism, especially during the last decade, during the so called “memorandum years” that have been characterized by measures that have increased the country’s economic dependency, and in which even practices of classical colonialism such as land-grabbing took place (Hadjimichalis, 2014) in order to normalize the “Greek exception” (Velegrakis et al., 2015). New clear-cut dichotomies (such as the distinction between productive North and lazy South) have been added and naturalized to the already existing ones in order to shape new superiority/inferiority relations among the countries of the EU (Douzinas, 2013).…”

Section: Study Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crisis, liminality and the decolonization of the social imaginary

Varvarousis

2019

Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space

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The decolonization of the social imaginary has been proposed as an important dimension of the transition towards a degrowth society. However, although omnipresent in the degrowth literature, the terms “social imaginary” and “social imaginary significations” have not been adequately explained. This creates a level of mystification that limits the analytical value of the degrowth framework. In addition, there is very little theoretical work on how actual social imaginaries can be decolonized and transformed. This paper first tries to clarify those concepts. Subsequently, it develops a theoretical framework for explaining such transitions of the imaginary. In developing this framework, the paper focuses on moments of crisis, since crises have been historically associated with change and transition. It argues that crises are important because they destabilize social imaginaries and open up a stage of suspension—a liminal stage—in which the rise of new social practices can facilitate the emergence of new social imaginary significations and institutions that can contribute to the alteration of the social imaginary at large. The paper draws on case studies related to the Greek crisis, the biggest ever faced by a country of the Global North after the Second World War.

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Section: Study Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%