Constantine G. Karamanlis Professor of Hellenic and European Studies, The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University
February 12, 2015
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Barker Center, Room 128
Against a background of economic and fiscal crisis and a renewed politicization of the European project, Greece's parliamentary election in January ushers in a year of national elections in Europe: there are parliamentary elections in Estonia, Finland, Britain, Denmark, Portugal, Poland, and Spain, in addition to a presidential election in Poland. The talk provides a critical reading of the road to current developments in the EU and the eurozone and of the prospects ahead for Southern Europe in particular. It is argued that in 2015 a number of EU member states will face a juncture in terms of both political economy and political performance. The challenges are multiple and the particularities of different domestic contexts will mediate in unforeseen ways the content and implications of EU-states interactions. As a case study, the Greek election (widely seen as a case of radical change and possible discontinuity) offers a number of significant elements of continuity in terms of the country's political culture and party politics, in addition to manifest dimensions of change and symbolic rupture.
