A Citizen’s Guide to Greece 2015
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Light on the Cypriot horizon
Posted March 27, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Javier Solana Once again, Europe has peered into the abyss. But the tentative agreement between Cyprus and the troika (the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank) probably means that the worst has been avoided. Big losses for large depositors in Cypriot banks will now be imposed, and the country’s […]
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The Dukakis Center: the inside story
Posted September 27, 2015 by Politis
A new academic year is beginning at the American College of Thessaloniki and the Dukakis Center is planning another banner year of events and public service initiatives. Politis caught up with Dr. David Wisner, Executive Director of the Dukakis Center, to get the inside story on the many events he has organized at ACT over […]
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Conceptions of politics: changing patterns in Greece
Posted April 14, 2012 by pdcadmin
By Kostas A. Lavdas Greeks know a thing or two about politics. But the reasons why they do – the conditions that help nurture a political culture prone to intense politicization – are diverse and, at least some of them, divergent. In fact, as I have suggested elsewhere, political development in modern Greece can be […]
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I, Citizen
Posted February 14, 2014 by DW
By David Wisner I was invited not too long ago to discuss my views on citizenship on a local television program. What is different about citizens in Greece and in the US, was more or less the line of inquiry. I answered in somewhat broken Greek, and for fear that my thinking is not easily […]
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Saying of the day: 3/18/13
Posted March 18, 2013 by Politis
“If you make people’s lives better they will pay you for it — bottom line.” — Rob Markey
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Civic engagement and the practices of democracy
Posted April 8, 2016 by Politis
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Saying of the day: 3/31/13
Posted March 31, 2013 by Politis
“Obama is very possibly a world-historical political figure, and until those who oppose him come to grips with this fact, they will get him wrong every time.” — John Podhoretz
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Hands on the roof of the car
Posted October 24, 2013 by Politis
What say we reverse roles. A regular reader of Politis sent this arresting image our way this morning, with the following caption by Banksy. “The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It’s people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages.” […]
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New Media emerging
Posted April 22, 2012 by KK
By Krystallia Kalachani It is late afternoon, June 2011, the temperature in Athens is high. I am still at work giving a last look at my social media accounts before I leave for home, there is calling for a gathering in Syntagma Square, central Athens, in front of the Greek Parliament. I would be there […]
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Unemployment: this is no joke
Posted April 2, 2013 by Politis
This is, unfortunately, not an April fools joke. “Greece’s record 27 unemployment rate – which some analysts said could soon hit 30 percent – could even undermine the government if social unrest increases because 60 percent of the jobless have been out of work for more than a year and have no benefits,” according to […]
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How frequently do we use opengov services?
Posted April 3, 2013 by Politis
A nice chart below on the top online tasks carried out by frequent users in the UK. Note the lag in opengov service use relative to such tasks as reading the news, making purchases online, or engaging in some form of entertainment.
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Huffington Post: Greece Immigrants Face ‘Alarming’ Increase In Attacks, Group Says
Posted July 12, 2012 by MK
Derek Gatopoulis 7/10/12 ATHENS, Greece — A leading human rights organization is urging Greece’s new government to take “urgent action” to curb an “alarming” increase in attacks against Asian and African immigrants, including brutal assaults by gangs on teenage boys and pregnant women. In a 100-page report issued Tuesday, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said xenophobic […]
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Who wants to …?
Posted January 25, 2015 by DW
Election day is nigh upon us. With this in mind, there are three dimensions to the question I have been thinking of asking: Who wants to run, who wants to vote, and who wants to govern. In May 2014 the Dukakis Center examined an apparent inflation in the number of candidates running for local and […]
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Could this work in Greece?
Posted March 17, 2013 by Politis
The Project on Government Oversight seeks to “provoke accountability” in the workings of the US Federal Government. About POGO Founded in 1981, POGO originally worked to expose outrageously overpriced military spending on items such as a $7,600 coffee maker and a $436 hammer. In 1990, after many successes reforming military spending, including a Pentagon spending […]
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The best and the brightest
Posted September 19, 2015 by DW
In the spring of 2006 I invited Pavlos Geroulanos to visit the Dukakis Center to speak on the topic of “youth and politics.” At the time Geroulanos was something like chief of staff to the then-president of PASOK, George Papandreou, having recently returned to Greece from the US, where he had done an MBA at […]
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Open the doors/where are the people?
Posted April 3, 2013 by DW
By David Wisner Growing up my friends and I used to play a small game with our hands. We would start with our hands clasped, thumbs aligned, index fingers erect. “Here is the church/here is the steeple/open the doors/where are the people?” We would then interlock our fingers and perform the same series of steps: […]
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Entrepreneurship in Greece: Looking at the big picture
Posted December 5, 2014 by DW
The Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service and The Anatolia School of Business cordially invite you to attend the 2nd Business and Politics Forum Entrepreneurship in Greece: Looking at the big picture Thursday, December 11, 2014, 18:00- 21:00 Thessaloniki City Hall (Ground Floor) Speakers: Anastasios Tzikas, President of the Board, TIF […]
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Erroneous Press Reports on U.S. Consulate General, Thessaloniki
Posted April 9, 2013 by Politis
Athens (April 8, 2013) — Erroneous press reports have appeared overnight suggesting that the U.S. Consulate General in Thessaloniki is closing. As the Consulate announced on February 15, certain U.S. citizen consular services and notarial services will be provided only on a periodic basis in Thessaloniki from the end of May onwards. Those services will […]
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In search of a Greek social contract
Posted February 24, 2012 by DW
By David Wisner I’ve been thinking a lot about the American Declaration of Independence. Let me explain by way of an anecdote. Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet’s long-time business associate, is blind in one eye, owing to complications in a cataract operation. As Alice Schroeder tells the story, Munger never blamed the doctor, instead accepting responsibility […]