Socioeconomic Fragmentation and Exclusion in Greece under the Crisis (New Perspectives on South-East Europe)

This volume uses new empirical evidence and analytical ideas to study phenomena of fragmentation and exclusion threatening stability and cohesion in Greek society in the aftermath of the crisis. The contributors argue that processes of fragmentation and exclusion provoked by the crisis can be observed on both a material and an ideational level. On a material level, rising levels of unemployment, poverty and inequality have produced new social security “outsiders”, while on an ideational level, a discursive-cultural shift is documented, which has led to new understandings and categorizations of new (and old) insiders and outsiders. Moreover, the volume attests to the aspirations, but also the limitations, of spontaneous civil society mobilization to address the social crisis. Finally, the volume offers a discussion of the political management of social fragmentation and exclusion in Greece both before and after the onset of the crisis. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of social policy and phenomena of poverty, social exclusion and economic inequality, civil society studies, and comparative political economy and politics. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Introduction (Dimitris Katsikas)....Pages 1-20 Front Matter ....Pages 21-21 Inequality and Poverty in Greece: Changes in Times of Crisis (Eirini Andriopoulou, Alexandros Karakitsios, Panos Tsakloglou)....Pages 23-54 Employment and Unemployment in Greece Before and After the Outbreak of the Crisis (Kyriakos Filinis, Alexandros Karakitsios, Dimitris Katsikas)....Pages 55-88 Too Little, Too Late: The Mismatch Between Social Policy and Social Crisis (Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos)....Pages 89-108 Front Matter ....Pages 109-109 New Words, Old Patterns: Political Discourse and Documents on Poverty and Social Exclusion in Greece (Dimitris Katsikas, Anastasia Papakonstantinou)....Pages 111-140 (Mis)understanding the Social Effects of the Crisis: Elite Perceptions of Poverty and Social Exclusion in Greece (Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos, Anastasia Papakonstantinou)....Pages 141-161 Civil Society Discourses on Poverty and Social Exclusion During the Greek Crisis (Maria Zafiropoulou, Aspasia Theodosiou, Alejandro Pérez)....Pages 163-187 Front Matter ....Pages 189-189 Understanding Civil Society’s Positioning and Strategies during the Crisis (Maria Zafiropoulou)....Pages 191-218 A Fragmented but Strengthened Civil Society? (Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos)....Pages 219-235 Conclusions: Multiple Aspects of Fragmentation and a Double Mismatch (Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos)....Pages 237-252 Back Matter ....Pages 253-258