Local governance in the age of austerity in Greece and the impact of the EU Leader approach in the region of Peloponnesus

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the austerity measures that have been introduced in Greece since 2010 in the patterns of local governance, with a specific focus on the case of the Leader approach for rural development in the Greek region of Peloponnesus. It deploys mixed qualitative techniques in order to outline the changes in local governance capacity and autonomy that resulted from the implementation of the two Memorandums of Understanding and the mid-term Fiscal Strategy since 2010. The diminished local governance capacity and autonomy, and the significant trends towards recentralization are revealed. These are more profound in the case of the five Leader programmes implemented in the region of Peloponnesus. The conclusions drawn by the paper put into serious doubt the mainstream assumptions concerning the impact of austerity measures on the patterns of governance in Greece in general and on local governance in particular.