Humanities in the news: Greece and the prospects for a European Spring

In cooperation with the Faculty of Humanities (UvA)

Event

What are the consequences of the Greek elections for the future of the Eurozone? Which consequences will they have for anti-austerity politics in other parts of Europe? With: Johan Hartle, Sara Murawski, Dimitris Pavlopoulos and Nicholas Vrousalis.

The Greek elections of the 25th of January put in government an anti-austerity party to the left of social democracy. Suddenly Europe has its first Left government in more than thirty years, which strengthens the position of other leftist movements and parties all over Europe as well. SYRIZA’s prospects of success are, indeed, heavily dependent on developments in the rest of Europe. In the absence of sufficient external support, SYRIZA’s anti-austerity programme is likely either to implode, or to lead to Greek exit from the Eurozone – developments that imply massive dangers given the rise of neo-fascist movements in Greece and other countries.  For these reasons the upcoming elections in Spain and Northern Ireland gain importance. With the rise of Podemos in Spain and Sinn Fein in Ireland, are developments favourable to the new Greek government likely to be forthcoming?

This event brings together academics and activists from Europe to address the Greek situation and relate it to wider prospects for a European Spring. The discussion will address the current humanitarian crisis afflicting Greece, the effects of austerity on poverty, unemployment and inequality, the anti-austerity goals set out by the new Greek government and the likelihood that they can be achieved in the present political conjuncture. 

About the speakers

Johan Hartle is assistant professor for Philosophy of Art and Culture at the University of Amsterdam and adjunct professor at the China Academy of Arts, Hangzhou, China. His general field of interest is the aftermath of Marxism in contemporary politics and culture.

Sara Murawski studied philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. She worked for political think tanks and journalistic media. In september 2013 she started her job as policy advisor European Affairs and Finance at the Socialist Party (SP). 

Dimitris Pavlopoulos is assistant professor at the department of Sociology of the Free University of Amsterdam. His research focuses on the socioeconomic consequences of flexible employment in Europe. He is particularly interested in the role of flexible employment in labour market segmentation and in the effectiveness of labour market policies in mitigating the adverse employment effects of the economic crisis.

Nicholas Vrousalis is assistant professor in political philosophy at Leiden University. He works at the intersection of moral philosophy and political economy, with special emphasis on distributive ethics, Marxism, and the philosophy of social science. 

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Published by  Spui25