ELIAMEP

Director General of ELIAMEP Dr Thanos Dokos gave an interview on Huffington Post  analysing relations between Greece and Russia. You can read here the article (in Greek).

ELIAMEP Researchers Dr Angeliki Dimitriadi and Assistsnt Professor Panagiota Manoli pacticipated in the kick-off Conference of the FEUTURE project (The future of EU-Turkey relations: Mapping dynamics and testing scenarios) which was hosted by Bilgi University (Istanbul) on 26 and 27 May 2016. You can find here more information.

On Wednesday 8 June 2016, the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) will organise the public debate: ‘The future of the EU and Greece: Challenges and Perspectives’. The event will take place in Aegli Zappeiou (Olympia Hall) in the context of the New Pact for Europe Programme.  Its working language will be Greek. More information is available on the Greek version of our website.

 

Director General of ELIAMEP Dr Thanos Dokos gave an interview on Deutsche Welle analysing the visit of President Vladimir Putin in Greece. You can read here the article (in Greek).

Less than a year ago, the Greek crisis reached its highest level of tension. After arduous negotiations, the Greek government and its creditors signed the agreement for a third bailout in July 2015,which should provide liquidity to the Greek public sector in return for a severe programme of deficit adjustment and structural reforms. At the time of finalising this edited volume, the spectre of Grexit seems much less likely, although not yet impossible (especially if there is Brexit). After six years of painful austerity and the adoption of a number of structural reforms, the original sins of the Greek economy, the structural governance deficits of the eurozone and the imbalances between the European economies remain almost unchanged. The crisis that dominated the European debate in the summer of 2015 changed the perception of Greece and the EU for good.

The contents of this monograph aim at providing a comprehensive view on the changing landscape of both Greek and European politics as a consequence of the eurozone crisis. It presents the results of a research workshop jointly organised by CIDOB and ELIAMEP on December 18th 2015, which departed from the following hypothesis: If the Greek crisis became the epicentre of the eurozone crisis and Europe’s economic and monetary downturn became an existential threat to the European project, then the consequences of the crisis should have transformed the behaviour of Greek authorities towards Europe and of the European authorities in facing the crisis. In other words, Greece and the EU should have adopted new visions reflecting both the transformation of the Greek political scene and the eurozone’s response to a systemic crisis.

Publication content

INTRODUCTION
Pol Morillas and Thanos Dokos

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE OR AN ABSOLUTE BEGINNER? SYRIZA’S EUROPEAN POLICY CHOICES ON THE WAY TO GREECE’S 3rd BAILOUT PROGRAM
George Pagoulatos and Panagiotis Vlachos

AN OLD CRISIS, A NEW GOVERNMENT AND THE CREDITORS: “PLUS ÇA CHANGE PLUS C’EST LA MÊME CHOSE”?
Dimitris Katsikas

THE POLITICS OF SYRIZA IN EUROPE: FROM LEFT-WING RADICALISM TO POST-LEFT MANAGERIALISM
Filippa Chatzistavrou

THE GEOPOLITICAL DIMENSION OF THE GREEK CRISIS
Thanos Dokos

GREECE AND THE CRISIS: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Effie G. H. Pedaliu

EUROZONE GOVERNANCE AFTER GREECE: LESSONS LEARNED, LESSONS TO LEARN
Eleni Panagiotarea

EMU GOVERNANCE AND THE MEMBER STATES: LESSONS FROM FEDERATIONS AND OTHER COUNTRIES
Cinzia Alcidi

You can read here the article on the new prime minister of Turkey written by Research Fellow of ELIAMEP and Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, Bilkent University, Dr. Ioannis N. Grigoriadis. This commentary was published in Kathimerini on 24 May 2016.

ELIAMEP Policy Paper 26/2016 deals with the Eastern Mediterranean in 2020. It is edited by Director General of the Foundation Dr Thanos Dokos. The policy paper employs scenarios and includes policy recommendations. Findings are based on a conference organised by ELIAMEP and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in Athens on “The Eastern Mediterranean in 2020: Possible Scenarios and Policy Recommendations” . The conference was organised in cooperation with the EU Institute for Security Studies (EU-ISS) and with the support of NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division.

‘Greece currently has its hands full with a twin crisis − continuing economic turmoil and an escalating influx of refugees. Despite such intractable problems at home, however, the prospect of Britain’s exit from the EU attracts considerable interest and is a frequent topic of discussions between decision-makers and academics.

There are several reasons for this, not least the important historical, political and cultural ties between Greece and the UK. There is also the concern from the Greek perspective that Britain’s exit would break an entrenched European taboo.

The assumption has been for many years that the EU and its institutions would grow ever larger. A Brexit would show it was possible for the EU to actually shrink, establishing a dangerous precedent for a country still haunted by the threat of an imposed Grexit. Greece is also aware of the wider significance of losing Britain from the European club. Athens has always been among the strongest supporters of a common European foreign and security policy. To stabilize its neighborhood and to be taken seriously at the global level, the EU needs, in addition to its soft power, some hard power capabilities.

Britain and France are the only European countries with the capability to project such power. In addition, the UK carries along a first-rate diplomatic tradition and influence in various ‘interesting’ parts of the globe. In some of these places, other EU countries lack sufficient influence. A Brexit would strip the EU of important military and diplomatic capabilities and would weaken its ability to eventually develop a meaningful and effective foreign and security policy.

Britain’s departure would just be the first step in a long and complicated process of disengagement from the EU and its institutions. Its relationship with the rest of the Union would need to be redefined and that process would be neither easy nor quick. Scottish plans to leave the UK and join the EU would further complicate matters.

All this will be taking place at a time when the rest of the world, and especially powers such as Russia and China, but also the new US Administration, will not only be watching the EU’s performance but testing its cohesion and willingness to remain an influential regional and global player. This will serve the interests of neither the EU, nor the UK. Finally, ‘losing’ its second largest economy will not be in any way beneficial for the EU.

Even if the UK decides to stay, Eurosceptics will still be influential and its relationship with the EU will probably remain problematic. Facing serious challenges and with enough Eurosceptics already in Central and Eastern Europe, the Union hardly needs another one. Greece is also concerned that too many exemptions for any member state will weaken the Union.

At the end of the day, however, the thinking in Athens is that the EU would be better off fighting its battles and sorting out its differences with a difficult member state such as Britain inside the EU institutions rather than outside the Union’

Source: Chatham House

Director General of ELIAMEP Dr Thanos Dokos gave an interview on Euronews analysing the forthcoming visit of President Vladimir Putin in Greece. You can watch the video here.

You can read here the article on the objectives of Greek foreign policy, which was written by Director General of ELIAMEP Dr Thanos Dokos. This commentary was published in the Greek daily Kathimerini on 18 May2016 [in Greek].

On Wednesday 19 May 2016, Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos gave a lecture on ‘The Quality of Democracy in the Western Balkans’ in Podgorica, Montenegro, upon the invitation of the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Montenegro. The lecture was attended by professors and students of political science.

The relevant study of Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos is available here.

You can read here the article on risks for world security, which was written by Professor Emeritus and Member of the Board of Trustees of ELIAMEP Theodore Couloumbis. This commentary was published on 15 May 2016 in the Sunday edition of Kathimerini.

Τhe Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) organize on Tuesday 10 May 2016, from 9:00 to 12:30 at the Β & Μ Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts and Music (9, Vassilissis Sofias Avenue & 1, Merlin Street, 106 71 Athens) a conference on: “Migration, refugees and European Security: Fostering co-operation, building coalitions”.

Welcome Remarks:
H.E. Mr Nikos Xydakis, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs

 

Keynote Speeches:
Ambassador Lamberto Zannier, OSCE Secretary General

Dora Bakoyannis, Μember of the Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security; Member of the Greek Parliament; former Minister of Foreign Affairs

Speakers:
Monika Ekstrom, Head of Sector “Political Reporting & Policy Analysis” of the Representation of the European Commission in Greece, Athens
Dr. Saban Kardas, Director, Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM), Ankara
Ambassador Nina Suomalainen, Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje
Ambassador Claude Wild, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the OSCE and Chair of the Informal Working Group on Migration

Moderator:
Dr. Thanos Dokos, Director General, ELIAMEP, Athens

The discussion will be held in English. Students will receive a certificate of attendance.

You can find the programme here.

You are kindly requested to confirm your participation to Ms. Anastasia Chatzopoulou by Monday 9 May 2016 (Tel. 2107257124, activities@eliamep.gr).

The Schuman Report on Europe, State of the Union 2016 was published in the end of April 2016 by the Foundation Robert Schuman. The book attempts to answer the question how Europe could remain united.  It, inter alia, contains a chapter written by Director General of ELIAMEP, Dr Thanos Dokos, on ‘the limited geopolitical awareness of the European Union in the context of the Greek, Cypriot and Ukrainian crisis’.

You can find here more information.

 

Research Fellow of ELIAMEP Dr Eleni Panagiotarea participated in the ‘Building Bridges between National Perspectives on the European Union’ two-year project, co-ordinated by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) with three major partners: the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), Real Instituto Elcano and EUROPEUM—European Institute for European Policy, and supported by the “Europe for Citizens” programme of the European Union. Through workshops in Warsaw, Madrid, Paris, and Brussels, ‘Building Bridges’ sought to engage national experts and local citizens in a fruitful debate on the relationship between their member state and the EU and on the future of the Union.

Dr Panagiotarea presented the Greek report, ‘Perspectives of Adjustment, Prospects of Reform’ in a conference in Prague on 16 March.

You can find here more information on the project.

At first glance, Europe appears to have forgotten about its own share of responsibility for several conflicts in its periphery, its humanitarian values, and the cardinal rule of solidarity among the union’s members in cases of emergency. In the refugee crisis, the EU was forced to take into consideration several stark realities: its inability to influence geopolitical developments in and around Syria, the prospect of greater migration flows and the EU’s limited capacity or willingness for absorption, and the EU’s inadequate ability to efficiently protect its external borders. These shortcomings coincided with strong Euroskeptic, xenophobic, and Islamophobic sentiments in several EU member states at a time of a broader leadership deficit across Europe. In addition, the EU faced the difficulty of integrating young Muslims into European societies already facing radicalization challenges.

These factors resulted in more pragmatic but often cruel policies toward the refugee problem. The EU was forced to make concessions to Turkey, a country that plays a critical role in Europe’s migration crisis but whose commitment to democratic values and respect for human rights has been gradually declining during the last few years.

The key questions now are whether Europe’s choices—as usual in the logic of the lowest common denominator—will prove at least moderately effective and whether the concept of common European policies on burden sharing and problem-solving will remain pertinent in the future.

Source: Carnegie Europe

Author: Dr Thanos Dokos

Political analyst from St Anthony’s College of the University of Oxford, Dr Leyla Aliyeva, wrote Briefing Note 46/2016 for ELIAMEP analysing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the impact of the current situation. You can access it here.

The latest edition of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies was recently been published and is available online.  This is a special issue focusing on the Ukraine crisis and Sub-State and Non-State Actors, guest edited by Dr Emmanuel Karagiannis and Dr Tracey German, both of King’s College London. The introduction is free to access and explains that ‘there has been a change in the distribution of power throughout the international system with the emergence of a range of non-state actors who are threatening to fundamentally alter the basis of traditional state-based power.’

The issue features pieces looking at this issue from a variety of angles, including articles on ‘ideas, political-social norms and emotions as mobilization mechanisms,’ ‘hybrid civil Society in Ukraine,’ ‘the outcomes of using non-state actors in civil conflicts’ and ‘Paramilitary motivation in Ukraine.’ A number of the articles are free to access as well for a limited time.

You can find more information here.

Nowadays Islamic finance is gradually becoming an important part of the international financial system. During the ongoing financial crisis, the role of Islamic finance for the stabilisation of the international financial system appears to be strong and promising due to its ethical principles and religious foundation. This analysis focuses both on the quantitative and qualitative examples of the economic upheaval in the Eurozone and Greece and explores the prospects of introducing and developing possible prospects of Islamic finance in the Greek economy.

Working Paper 74/2016: Embracing Islamic Finance in Greece: A preliminary analysis

Author: Dr Evangelos Venetis

 

The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and the Institure of International Economic Relation (IDOS) will organise seminars for students and professionals in May and June 2016. Seminars will be taught in Greek and the cost will be 90 EUR for students and 150 EUR for professionals. More information is available on the Greek version of ELIAMEP website.