A Citizen’s Guide to Greece 2015
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In praise of subjecthood (of the right sort)
Posted June 10, 2013 by Politis
Living in Europe today is akin to being a subject in some latter day Holy Roman Empire, that “political commonwealth under which the Germans lived for many hundreds of years.” So says Brendan Simms of Cambridge University in today’s New York Times. While the Empire lasted nearly a thousand years, however, the comparison is not […]
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Politis forum: journalists or losers?
Posted February 8, 2014 by Politis
Politis has invited Krysta Kalachani and guest contributor Sakis Ioannides, of Parallaxi, to comment on Παναγιώτης Μένεγος, “Δημοσιογράφος, ο μεγάλος χαμένος (και) της κρίσης,” popaganda.gr, January 28, 2014. SI Let me summarize “Journalist, the crisis’ big loser,” an article by Panagiotis Menegos, one of the staff writers at popaganda.gr (a multimedia electronic magazine). Menegos wrote […]
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“Do you mean what you say?” Mark Mazower on political extremism
Posted February 11, 2013 by Politis
Mark Mazower, the author of “Salonica, City of Ghosts,” was interviewed in Kathimerini this past weekend. Here is what he had to say about political extremism in Greece today: “The new and highly disturbing feature of the scene in Greece is obviously the rise of the far right. Its emergence forces us to confront the […]
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Human Rights Watch on Greece’s other crisis
Posted January 20, 2013 by KK
Excerpts from a post yesterday on the Human Rights Watch site. “Partly hidden within [the] turmoil [of Greece’s sovereign debt crisis] is another crisis threatening to spin out of control – xenophobic violence against migrants and asylum seekers in Athens and elsewhere. Violence against people from Afghanistan and North and sub-Saharan Africa is alarmingly commonplace, […]
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Nerdy citizenry
Posted April 29, 2013 by Politis
By Politis Are geeks the model citizens of the 21st century? Bill Moyers and Co. think so, with compelling evidence. “… we see hackers getting involved in so many different domains of politics… there are some bread and butter issues: free speech and privacy, civil liberties. This is something that a lot of hackers who […]
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Juergen Habermas on the future of the EU
Posted April 27, 2013 by Politis
German philosopher Juergen Habermas spoke at the Catholic University of Leuven last week to an audience that included students and Herman Van Rompuy, current President of the European Council. Habermas entitled his lecture “Democracy, Solidarity and the European Crisis.” What Europe needs, he said, “is solidarity and a cooperative approach that results from a shared […]
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Greek Reporter exposes fake Greek products abroad
Posted January 27, 2013 by Politis
Saddening news from today’s Greek Reporter. “Shady businessmen and companies produce thousands of fake Greek products in China, the UK and the US causing tremendous financial losses to Greek exporters and domestic economy, reported the Panhellenic Exporters Association Jan. 24, adding that ‘disturbing phenomena of malicious trademark registration of well-known Greek companies have been recorded […]
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Lustration and the Arab spring
Posted May 8, 2013 by DW
By David Wisner The Dukakis Center hosted well-known Greek blogger Kostas Kallergis in April for a talk on lustration as a means of dealing with corruption in Greek politics. Hearkening back to attempts in various countries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe in the 1990s to deal with their former communist past, Kallergis concluded that the […]
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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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Party time
Posted March 13, 2014 by DW
By Damian Mac Con Uladh Exports, imports and retail prices might all be in decline. And unemployment hovering over 27% for nine months straight. But six years into a recession that has ravaged the gross national product, there is one Greek industry showing impressive growth rates: the production of new political parties, movements and coalitions. […]
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Defining public service in a post-democratic age
Posted September 20, 2016 by Politis
By Jacey McCowan University of Texas at San Antonio American College of Thessaloniki From the Editor: Jacey McCowan spent the Spring 2015 semester as a study abroad student at ACT and an intern at the Dukakis Center, where she took part in the ongoing research project «Public Service in the 21st Century.» The following is […]
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Who were the aganaktismenoi?
Posted February 21, 2013 by KK
By Krysta Kalachani Who were the aganaktismenoi, the Greek indignados? They were mostly people who were not supporting strongly any ideology or party. They might have been coming from all parties and all ideologies, meaning that they could have voted for one party or another in the past, but the gatherings in Syntagma Square during the […]
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Saying of the day: 5/10/13
Posted May 11, 2013 by Politis
“Unlike in Greece, corruption is not a way of life in Spain. Most Spaniards go about their daily business without ever paying a bribe. But experts say that the concentration of power in the hands of regional and municipal officials and their ties to the local savings banks created ideal conditions for corruption in […]
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Saying of the day: 5/27/13
Posted May 27, 2013 by Politis
“There’s a lot more optimism in the air . . . but we’re not yet through the crisis. It’s still a tough balancing act for [small and medium-sized] companies like ours. — Fotis Sousalis, Export Manager, Terra Creta
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Entrepreneurship in Greece: the state of play
Posted October 17, 2013 by Politis
Excerpts from an article in the Harvard Business Review by Michael G. Jacobides of the London Business School. “On the economic front, the government is trying its best to play up Greece’s ‘success story’: its return to stability, the achievement of a primary surplus, and the increasing interest of global investors such as John Paulson. […]
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When Philotimo stood with African-Americans
Posted February 15, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Andreas Akaras February is Black History Month, a monthlong celebration of the African diaspora’s contributions to America. During this month long observance, we Greek-Americans are reminded of the many outstanding Hellenes who stood with the African-American community in its struggle for freedom and dignity. From grade school, we come to know that America is […]
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The New Cold War: Russia, NATO, and the Re-Division of Europe
Posted November 5, 2016 by Politis
By Ambassador John Koenig Note from the Editors. John Koenig is a retired career Foreign Service Officer and former US Ambassador to Cyprus. He is a member of the Honorary Board of Advisors to the Dukakis Center. The following is the text of prepared remarks delivered at Western Washington University. Intro Good afternoon and thank […]
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Up a creek…
Posted June 17, 2013 by DW
What is the expression again, “up a creek without a paddle?”
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This is citizenship in action!
Posted February 24, 2012 by pdcadmin
By Maria Patsarika October 27, 2011 may now seem as a distant instantané of the eurozone crisis. However, at that time, it was seen by many as a victorious day, after having agreed a deal that slashed the Greek debt to 50%. As with all such deals, however, this one, too, had winners and losers; […]
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The youth factor
Posted November 19, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Jiya Pinder Stability — economic, political and social — is a state that most countries strive for, any of the three aspects can offset or compromise the next, making national stability difficult to achieve for any government. In democratic societies and in societies in transition, “youth” play an essential role in maintaining stability. As […]