The State and Modes of Regulation in Greece from the Post-War Period to the 2009 Financial Crisis

Mainstream views attribute the causes of the recent crisis in Greece to endogenous factors—for example, profligacy, corruption and rent-seeking—and describe the country as a ‘special case’.

In contrast to such approaches, this paper discusses the alternating modes of regulation in Greece from the post-war period until the recent crisis and argues that, despite the ruptures, lags and deviations, an alignment with wider international developments emerges.

Four phases are distinguished: a post-Civil War period of growth under an authoritarian rule; a short Keynesian period of stagnation; a period of growth and neo-liberalization; and the current crisis. It is also argued that the crisis provided an opportunity to deepen certain neo-liberalization processes across the European Union (EU), further denationalize economic policy and impose fiscal discipline at the expense of the social state, even through constitutionalization. These developments advocate the view that Greece is rather a ‘test case’ than a ‘special case’