{"id":8402,"date":"2012-06-22T10:15:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-22T07:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thessalika-nea.gr\/wordpress\/?p=8402"},"modified":"2012-06-22T10:15:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-22T07:15:00","slug":"greek-crises-greek-resilience-by","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thessalika-nea.gr\/?p=8402","title":{"rendered":"Greek Crises, Greek Resilience (By ARISTOTLE TZIAMPIRIS)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\nDaniel Haskett<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nBy ARISTOTLE TZIAMPIRIS<\/h6>\n
\nATHENS \u2014 Greece is once again at a crossroads, being at the very center
\nof the world\u2019s attention and facing unprecedented scrutiny. Oddly, this
\nsituation fits well with the national self-understanding that accords
\nour country (not entirely unjustly) an outsize role in European
\nintellectual and political history. But the fact remains that Greek
\nsociety has entered a liminal period in which political parties,
\neconomic practices and diplomatic <\/div>\n

<\/a>certainties will slowly be overturned.
\n <\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\nIn what sounds like a clich\u00e9, the key to future developments is held by
\nthe youth of Greece. About half of them are unemployed, many opted to
\nvote for radical left parties in the recent election and none partook in
\n the sins of the past. At my university, class attendance rose
\nprecipitously and across the board once the economic crisis erupted.
\nCollege students instinctively and immediately understood that after
\ngraduation they would be facing a new reality where political or family
\nconnections could not ensure well-paying public-sector jobs. In fact,
\nsuch employment opportunities are now, for all practical purposes,
\nnon-existent. <\/div>\n
\n

Unfortunately, being studious and excelling in academics is not enough
\nto secure a prosperous future. My best students are not even
\nentertaining thoughts of staying in Greece. Simply put, they all want to
\n go abroad. What is most interesting is that the first choice of the
\nvery best is not Germany or Britain but almost always the United States.
\n This attests not only to the undiminished attraction of the American
\nsystem but also to a sea-change in popular attitudes toward the United
\nStates. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

For the first time in living memory, numerous (and at times daily) mass
\ndemonstrations in the center of Athens, where I live, had no
\nanti-American content, nor did they conclude in front of the U.S.
\nEmbassy according to a long established \u201cprotocol.\u201d Targets included the
\n German chancellor, Angela Merkel, corrupt national politicians and
\nespecially the \u201cTroika\u201d (representatives of the International Monetary
\nFund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission), but never
\nthe Obama administration. Although it may be premature to declare
\nanti-Americanism in Greece a thing of the past, the fact remains that
\nGreek society has been appreciative of America\u2019s overall support.\n <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

It is now almost an article of faith that the solution to Greece\u2019s
\nsovereign debt crisis essentially lies in Berlin. However, Washington
\ncan also decisively address some potential geopolitical and geo-economic
\n perils. For example, through its regional military presence and
\ninfluence with NATO Washington can help ensure that Athens will not have
\n to face any additional challenges by various neighboring states.\n <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

For example, the last thing needed right now are more mock dogfights
\nover the Aegean Sea between Greek and Turkish F-16 warplanes, tensions
\nover Cyprus and disputes about potential energy-related routes and
\nrights in the eastern Mediterranean. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

At the same time, third countries such as Russia can be effectively
\ndiscouraged from efforts to cheaply acquire strategic aspects of the
\nGreek economy (Gazprom, for example, is interested in acquiring a stake
\nin Greece\u2019s natural gas company) and thus exploiting the weakness of a
\ncountry that is a full member of NATO, the E.U. and the euro zone. From a
\n U.S. perspective, policies aiming to assist Greece would utilize
\nexisting military and diplomatic assets, cost next to nothing to U.S.
\ntaxpayers and, most significantly, contribute to regional stability.\n <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Ultimately, though, there is only so much that international actors can
\nor should do to assist Greece. Long-lasting solutions to the myriad
\nexamples of corruption and inefficiencies that have been so effectively
\nexposed by the world\u2019s media can only emerge from within our society. On
\n this front one can be guardedly optimistic. The economic crisis has
\nbeen condensing political time. Even if the new coalition government
\nproves relatively short-lived, the passing of structural reforms and
\nlaunch of strategic investments such as the E.U.-supported Helios solar
\nproject are now possible. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Although a national outcry against further austerity measures does
\nexist, it is coupled by an equally vehement demand to end past
\npractices. It is simply unacceptable to slash unemployment benefits but
\ntolerate tax evasion, closed shops and waste. Recently, I have even
\nwitnessed students reminding others that smoking is forbidden upon the
\nuniversity\u2019s premises (Greece has notoriously failed \u2014 so far \u2014 to
\nsuccessfully implement a nonsmoking ban). <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

At the same time, new politicians are entering the scene while some of
\nthe parties that produced the crisis are in terminal decline. We are
\nthus about to experience a society with new expectations, new demands
\nand new leaders. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Finally, since we Greeks place so much emphasis on our historical
\nlegacy, it is fair to ask if history offers any perspective on the
\ncountry\u2019s current predicament. The modern Hellenic state has a proven
\ntrack record of overcoming much more serious crises. Consider that in
\nthe 20th century alone, Greece confronted two Balkan Wars, two World
\nWars, the 1923 mass population exchange with Turkey, fascist and Nazi
\noccupations that included a deadly famine and the annihilation of its
\nJewish community, a disastrous civil war, mass immigration abroad,
\nnumerous coup d\u2019\u00e9tats, several major dictatorships, the 1974 Cyprus
\nevents and near-military confrontations with Turkey on various
\noccasions. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Thus, from a historical viewpoint, the current crisis is neither
\nunprecedented, nor even close to being the worst. It is worth keeping in
\n mind that after every catastrophic phase, after every setback, Greece
\nmanaged to survive, recover and even prosper. The resilience and
\nadaptability of the Greek people are not to be underestimated. A new
\nGreece will no doubt emerge. But we are not quite there yet. <\/p><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n

Aristotle Tziampiris<\/strong> is associate professor of international relations at the University of Piraeus.<\/em><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/06\/22\/opinion\/greek-crises-greek-resilience.html?_r=1<\/em><\/a> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Daniel Haskett By ARISTOTLE TZIAMPIRIS ATHENS \u2014 Greece is once again at a crossroads, being at the very center of the world\u2019s attention and facing unprecedented scrutiny. Oddly, this situation fits well with the national self-understanding that accords our country (not entirely unjustly) an outsize role in European intellectual and political history. But the fact […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[228],"class_list":{"0":"post-8402","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-1","7":"tag-228"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thessalika-nea.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thessalika-nea.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thessalika-nea.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thessalika-nea.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thessalika-nea.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thessalika-nea.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8402\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thessalika-nea.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thessalika-nea.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thessalika-nea.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}