Political vs. Economic Crisis
Most of the analyses see the current political crisis as a result of the prolonged economic crisis which has resulted in a complete rearrangement of the party system. However, my argument is that the political crisis, either in a form of a crisis of representation and/or in the form of the government centered relation between state and society, preceded the economic one. In fact, this is the reason that the policies which prevailed as a response to the economic crisis were so unpopular and in effect further fueled the political crisis. This is not the case only in Greece, where this seminar will focus, but also in many other European countries.
Michalis Spourdalakis has been teaching political sociology as Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, at the University of Athens since 1991. Since April 2014 he is also the Dean of the School of Economics and Politics. He is director at the Laboratory of Political Communication and Media Information at the University of Athens, Greece. Before assuming his current position at the University of Athens, he was Assistant Professor at Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada; a Post-Doctoral Fellow of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC); and a Researcher at the National Center of Social Research, in Athens. He is currently director of the Canadian Studies Center at the University of Athens. Professor Spourdalakis holds an undergraduate Degree from the University of Athens; a B.A.(Honours) from Lakehead University, Canada; an M.A. form University of Manitoba; and a Ph.D. from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Professor Spourdalakis has published in the field of political sociology in both English and Greek, and part of his work has been translated into Spanish and Chinese. His books and articles have elaborated themes on political representation with an emphasis on political parties' relation to society, culture and the state; on local and regional administration and development; on the welfare state and collective consumption; and on Greek political institutions and policies since 1974. His publications include: The Rise of the Greek Socialist Party, London: Routledge, 1988; On the Theory and the Study of Political Parties, Athens: 1989; Populism and Politics, (with N. Mouzelis and T. Libovats), Athens: 1990; The Constitutions of Political Parties (with G. Papademetriou), Athens: 1994; pasok: Party-State-Society, (ed.) Athens: 1998, Party of European Socialists: Prospects and Challenges, Athens, 2001.
Most of the analyses see the current political crisis as a result of the prolonged economic crisis which has resulted in a complete rearrangement of the party system. However, my argument is that the political crisis, either in a form of a crisis of representation and/or in the form of the government centered relation between state and society, preceded the economic one. In fact, this is the reason that the policies which prevailed as a response to the economic crisis were so unpopular and in effect further fueled the political crisis. This is not the case only in Greece, where this seminar will focus, but also in many other European countries.
Michalis Spourdalakis has been teaching political sociology as Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, at the University of Athens since 1991. Since April 2014 he is also the Dean of the School of Economics and Politics. He is director at the Laboratory of Political Communication and Media Information at the University of Athens, Greece. Before assuming his current position at the University of Athens, he was Assistant Professor at Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada; a Post-Doctoral Fellow of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC); and a Researcher at the National Center of Social Research, in Athens. He is currently director of the Canadian Studies Center at the University of Athens. Professor Spourdalakis holds an undergraduate Degree from the University of Athens; a B.A.(Honours) from Lakehead University, Canada; an M.A. form University of Manitoba; and a Ph.D. from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Professor Spourdalakis has published in the field of political sociology in both English and Greek, and part of his work has been translated into Spanish and Chinese. His books and articles have elaborated themes on political representation with an emphasis on political parties' relation to society, culture and the state; on local and regional administration and development; on the welfare state and collective consumption; and on Greek political institutions and policies since 1974. His publications include: The Rise of the Greek Socialist Party, London: Routledge, 1988; On the Theory and the Study of Political Parties, Athens: 1989; Populism and Politics, (with N. Mouzelis and T. Libovats), Athens: 1990; The Constitutions of Political Parties (with G. Papademetriou), Athens: 1994; pasok: Party-State-Society, (ed.) Athens: 1998, Party of European Socialists: Prospects and Challenges, Athens, 2001.