Dimitrios' World

The street protests in Greece are raising a big debate about their purpose, their cohesion and their effectiveness. After the initial feeling of elation that comes with a spontaneous expression of discontent with the state of the country and the ineffectiveness of the political system much ado is being made as to whether this largely heterogeneous mass of citizens with very disparate perspectives can actually express a cohesive platform of positions and possibly even evolve into some sort of political movement. Herein the danger. The street protests are meant to mobilise the political elite into taking action but as long as the governing and the main opposition parties are ineffective (or perceived to be ineffective) in leading, the street protests will quickly disintegrate into an unruly mob with an anti West, anti EU, anti IMF, anti anything that is not Greek populist movement. The presence of many Greek flags (a sign that the lines between patriotism and nationalism are...

The feeling of outrage is growing among the professional political elite in Greece. It can be easily understood -- they have been running this country for over 35 years (and some for much more) and now the people they represent or at least a part of them have been taking to the streets to protest! What ires the despondent and indignant politicians is that the people in the squares and streets are not protesting within the organised confines of the unions and political parties that have been formed to allow citizens to vent their anger and to to be co-opted but, how dare they, these new protests have been taking place without the approval of the party machines! Even worse, whenever anyone shows up waiving the symbols of any of our benevolent political formations, they are derided and threatened. As a result of this growing phenomenon, the politicians feel the very core of their existence under threat. If they cannot govern as they have to date with their vested interests, ...

It wasn’t that difficult to decide, in my current state of mind, that my present and future do not lie in today’s Greece. I thus took the decision to emigrate and move to another city, another country, another university, another work environment where my talents, ideas, and work experience, whatever these might be or are perceived to be, were sought after and appreciated. In the short while that I have left Athens (not even a full month), I feel energized and creative again, full of aspirations, and more committed and hopeful in not only fulfilling my duties and obligations but helping, with the means at my disposal, my country stand on its feet and prosper far more than I have been able since I lived and worked in Greece. The malaise of being a Greek today is overburdening. It possesses you as a fundamental human necessity – hope – seems to have lost its presence. I hope it is hidden behind a passing cloud or trying to unlock itself from the closet it finds itself imprisoned. If ...

It goes without saying that these are not the best of times for my country. I constantly find myself with dewy eyes trying to ensure that tears do not flow especially in front of others. After all, it is so unbecoming of a soon to be forty four year old university professor, I say too myself. Rage, anger is what I feel, for what is happening to Greece . And it occurs to me that this occurring too often lately. The wildfires of September 2007 and the accompanying loss of human life were debilitating, having me and most not directly involved in the heat of things (no pun intended) stuck in front of their television screens shocked, concerned, distressed. The riots of December 2008 that saw Athens burning was a wake up call that something was horribly amiss. A small segment of society that saw itself as disenfranchised wanted blood, police blood in this case, and for a few days saw their numbers swell with 14-year olds and other misguided youth that saw the limits of the clientelist syst...

In a recent analysis of Barrack Obama’s foreign policy much was made of the fact that in contrast to his predecessor’s value-laden approach, Obama seems to favour Realpolitik. In another recent article it is suggested that the “democracy narrative” was losing ground as all “colour” or “velvet” revolutions of recent years – the Rose Revolution in Georgia in 2003, its Orange counterpart in Ukraine in 2004, the Tulip or Pink Revolution in Kyrgyzstan in 2005 and even the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon in 2005 – have failed to produce much especially in terms of the long-term democratisation and liberalisation of the countries at hand. In fact, it may well be that the ideological underpinnings of the aforementioned revolutions pitting the so-called “good guys” versus the “bad guys” have found themselves lacking sponsors today given the current withdrawal of the neocons from the limelight. The return to realpolitik is also symbolised, inter alia, by the “reset button” paradigm between the U...

Βιβλιοκριτική Αλέξανδρος Γιαννής, Από το «Εγώ» στο «Εμείς». Εξωτερική Πολιτική στην εποχή της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και της Παγκοσμιοποίησης , Αθήνα: Εκδόσεις Παπαζήση, 2009, σελ. 144. Διαβάζοντας το νέο βιβλίο του Αλέξανδρου Γιαννή με τίτλο «Από το «Εγώ» στο «Εμείς». Εξωτερική πολιτική στην εποχή της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και της Παγκοσμιοποίησης», ο αναγνώστης μπορεί να καταλήξει σε δύο βασικές παρατηρήσεις. Η πρώτη είναι ότι το βιβλίο αποτελεί αναμφίβολα μια σημαντική συμβολή στη συζήτηση που διεξάγεται αναφορικά με το καίριο ερώτημα «γιατί υπάρχει ανάγκη για περισσότερη Ευρώπη». Η δεύτερη είναι ότι είναι δύσκολο για τη βασική θέση του βιβλίου, την οποία ο γράφων υιοθετεί σε μεγάλο βαθμό, να βρει απήχηση στο ελληνικό περιβάλλον ιδίως αν αναλογιστεί κανείς ότι προϋποθέτει την ανάγκη αναγωγής του εθνικού συμφέροντος σε ευρωπαϊκό. Σε αυτό το σημείο πρέπει να επισημανθεί ότι ο συγγραφέας του βιβλίου, ως μελετητής της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης (ΕΕ) και της πολυμερούς διπλωματίας, και ως μέλος της Γεν...

Crises by definition portend systemic adjustments and instabilities. At the same time, however, they –by and large– provide opportunities, be it structural economic and political changes, domestic reforms and cooperation with other states and non-state actors at the regional and international level. The global economic crisis exemplifies this duality. Also, the crisis is at the same time economic and geopolitical in scope. The current crisis also introduces a time element as its likely duration and span are uncertain. The economic effects lie beyond this commentary albeit it is safe to say that the relevant economic and social models of choice applied by governments to cope with it impact upon their political instruments and policy choices. This is particularly the case given the pressure and demand for the state authorities to assume a more intervening role in the functioning of the market The crisis finds the international order in flux having entered into a new era charac...