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The Ambivalence of Anti-Austerity Indignation in Greece: Resistance, Hegemony and Complicity

Theodossopoulos, Dimitrios (2014) The Ambivalence of Anti-Austerity Indignation in Greece: Resistance, Hegemony and Complicity. History and Anthropology, 25 (4). pp. 488-506. ISSN 0275-7206. (doi:10.1080/02757206.2014.917086) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:50890)

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02757206.2014.917086

Abstract

This article engages with a contradiction that can help us appreciate the ambiguity and complexity of indirect resistance as this is articulated in informal everyday contexts: many citizens in Greece boldly challenge the antisocial austerity measures that have plagued their lives, highlighting how these represent a hegemonic imposition led by foreign centres of economic power. Their anti-hegemonic critique, however, often recycles a dislike for foreigners and xenophobia, echoing more pervasive hegemonic narratives (for example, a crypto-colonial identification of Greece with the West). To deal with this contradiction, I stress the need to (1) de-pathologize local indignant discourse (avoiding the orientalization of anti-austerity discourse as emotional or inconsequential) and (2) acknowledge that indirect resistance may represent an astute critique of visible inequalities, but is not isolated from overarching hegemonic ideological influences that shape local interpretations of historical/economic causality.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/02757206.2014.917086
Uncontrolled keywords: Indirect Resistance, Indignation with Austerity, Financial Crisis, Hegemony, Defensive Nationalism, Greece
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User: Dimitrios Theodossopoulos
Date Deposited: 23 Nov 2015 22:57 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 10:59 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/50890 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Theodossopoulos, Dimitrios.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8453-3450
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