Abstract
This chapter describes the evolution of the Greek radical left in organisational, programmatic and electoral terms, centering upon the cases of Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) and the KKE (Communist Party of Greece). It also draws attention to other political forms of the radical left in the Greek public sphere, including extra-parliamentary groups, intellectuals, publications and publishing houses. Finally, it emphasises the reactions of the Greek radical left parties vis-à-vis the European and national economic crises in relation to their unique historic and political trajectories. Additionally, it attempts to assess the behaviour of Syriza while in government, by analysing the transformations it went through, something that makes Syriza an exceptional case in the radical left party family.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bithymitris, G. (2016). Union Militancy During Economic Hardship: The Strike at the Greek Steel company ‘Hellenic Halyvourgia.’ Employee Relations, 38(3), 373–389.
Close, D. (1995). The Origins of the Greek Civil War. Longman.
Doukas, G. (1991). The Thirteenth Congress of the KKE: Defeat of the Renovators. Journal of Communist Studies, 7(3), 393–398.
Dragassakis, Y. (2012). The Economic Program of Syriza-USF. Available at: http://www.syn.gr/downloads/syriza_usf_program_201206.pdf
Eleftheriou, C. (2009). The Uneasy ‘Symbiosis’. Factionalism and Radical Politics in Synaspismos. Paper presented at the 4th Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium, London, June 25–26.
Eleftheriou, C. (2016a). Greek Radical Left Reactions to the Crisis: Three Types of Political Mobilisation, One Winner. In L. March & D. Keith (Eds.), Europe’s Radical Left. From Marginality to the Mainstream? (pp. 289–310). Rowman & Littlefield.
Eleftheriou, C. (2016b). Radical Left Parties in Government During the Crisis: Lessons From the Syriza Case. Paper presented at the International Workshop ‘Europe’s New Radical Left in Times of Crisis’, Salonica, November 26–27.
Eleftheriou, C. (2016c). Greek Communism and Social Protest in Crisis-stricken Greece (2010–2015). Paper presented at the Second Annual Conference of the Cyprus Association of Political Science, Limassol, December 16–17.
Eleftheriou, C. (2019). Syriza From Opposition to Government: Organizational Strategy Under the Shadow of Synaspismos. In Y. Balabanidis (Ed.), Syriza, a Party on the Move: From Protest to Government (pp. 142–173). Themelio (in Greek).
Eleftheriou, C. (2021). Greek Anti-imperialism, Contemporary Era. In I. Ness & Z. Cope (Eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism (pp. 1141–1148). Palgrave Macmillan.
Kalyvas, S., & Marantzidis, N. (2002). Greek Communism, 1968–2001. East European Politics and Societies, 16(3), 665–690.
Kapetanyannis, V. (1987). The Communists. In K. Featherstone & D. Katsoudas (Eds.), Political Change in Greece: Before and After the Colonels (pp. 145–173). Croom Helm.
Kapetanyannis V. (1993). The Left in the 1980s: Too Little, Too Late. In R. Clogg (Ed.), Greece 1981‐1989. The Populist Decade (pp. 113–30). Macmillan Press.
Katsambekis, G. (2016). Radical Left Populism in Contemporary Greece: Syriza’s Trajectory from Minoritarian Opposition to Power. Constellations, 23(3), 391–403.
Katsourides, Y. (2016). Radical Left Parties in Government: The Cases of SYRIZA and AKEL. Palgrave Macmillan.
Keith, D., & Charalambous, G. (2016). On the (Non)Distinctiveness of Marxist-Leninism: The Portuguese and Greek Communist Parties Compared. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 49(2), 147–161.
KKE. (1996a). Programme of the KKE. KKE (in Greek).
KKE. (1996b). Statutes of the KKE. KKE (in Greek).
KKE (2013a). Programme of the KKE. Available at: http://inter.kke.gr/en/articles/Programme-of-the-KKE. Accessed 1 July 2022.
KKE (2013b). Statutes of the KKE. Available at: http://www.kke.gr/taytothta (in Greek).
Koustenis, P. (2008). KKE-Syriza in Athens: Strangers in the Same City? Greek Political Science Review, 31, 100–118 (in Greek).
Koustenis, P. (2019a, June 2). An Abruptly Aging Party. Efimerida ton Syntakton (in Greek).
Koustenis, P. (2019b, July 14). The Electoral Cycle of the Crisis. Efimerida ton Syntakton (in Greek).
Leon, G. (1976). The Greek Socialist Movement and the First World War: The Road to Unity. Boulder.
Margaritis. G. (2009). Greece. Socialism Communism, and the Left, 1850–1974. In I. Ness et al. (Eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest (pp. 1439–1447). Blackwell.
Mavris, Y. (2012). Greece’s Austerity Election. New Left Review, 76, 95–107.
Mavrogordatos, G. Th. (1983). Rise of the Green Sun: The Greek Election of 1981. Centre of Contemporary Greek Studies.
Moschonas, G. (2015). New Left in Greece: PASOK’s Fall and SYRIZA’s Rise. Dissent, 60, 33–37.
Papadopoulos, M. (2015). The Imperialist Unions, the Inter-Imperialist Contradictions and the Stance of the Communists. International Communist Review 6. Available at: https://www.iccr.gr/en/issue_article/The-imperialist-unions-the-inter-imperialist-contradictions-and-the-stance-of-the-communists/. Accessed 4 July 2022.
Papanikolopoulos, D. (2019). ‘Syriza and Social Movements: The Relationship, the Marriage, the Divorce. In Y. Balabanidis (Ed.), Syriza, a Party on the Move: From Protest to Government (pp. 121–141). Themelio (in Greek).
Papayannakis, M. (1981). The Crisis of the Greek Left. In H. Penniman (Ed.), Greece at the Polls (pp. 130–159). American Enterprises Institute for Public Policy Research.
Skalidakis, G., & Giovanopoulos, C. (2009). Greece, Partisan Resistance. In I. Ness et al. (Eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest (pp. 1436–1439). Blackwell.
Spourdalakis, M. (1988). The Rise of the Greek Socialist Party. Routledge.
Spourdalakis, M. (2012). Left Strategy in the Greek Cauldron: Explaining Syriza’s Success. In L. Panitch, G. Albo & V. Chibber (Eds.), The Question of Strategy, Socialist Register 2013 (pp. 98–120). Merlin Press.
Spourdalakis, M. (2014). The Miraculous Rise of the ‘Phenomenon SYRIZA.’ International Critical Thought, 4, 354–366.
Synaspismós. (2009). For the 21st Century Left. The Contribution of Synaspismós in Syriza Program (Athens, in Greek).
Syriza (2013). Statute of Syriza (Athens, in Greek).
Syriza (2014). The Thessaloniki Programme. Available at: http://www.syriza.gr/article/id/59907/SYRIZA---THE-THESSALONIKI-PROGRAMME.html. Accessed 4 July 2022.
Syriza (2016). The Political Resolution of the 2nd Congress. Available at: https://www.syriza.gr/article/id/67313/Politikh-Apofash-2oy-Synedrioy-toy-SYRIZA.html. Accessed 4th July 2022 (In Greek).
Tarditi, V., & Vittori, D. (2019). What Are We Gonna Be When We Grow Up? SYRIZA’s Institutionalisation and its New ‘Governing Party Role. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 52(1), 25–37.
Tsakatika, M., & Eleftheriou, C. (2013). The Greek Left’s Turn to Civil Society: One Strategy, Dual Trajectories. South European Societies and Politics, 18(1), 81–99.
Tsipras, A. (2012). Speech of Alexis Tsipras, President of the Parliamentary Group of SYRIZA–UNITED SOCIAL FRONT (USF) During the Presentation of the Party Program. Available at: http://www.syn.gr/gr/keimeno.php?id=27330. Accessed 4 July 2022.
Tsipras, A. (2015). Alexis Tsipras Speech at the Nationwide SYRIZA Conference. Available at: http://www.syriza.gr/article/id/62211/Alexis-Tsipras-speech-at-the-nationwide-SYRIZA-conference-.html. Accessed 4 July 2022.
Ulunian, A. (1998). The Communist Party of Greece and the Comintern: Evaluations, Instructions, and Subordination. In T. Rees & A. Thorpe (Eds.), International Communism and the Communist International, 1919–43 (pp. 187–204). Manchester University Press.
Vernardakis, C. (2011). Political Parties, Elections and Party System: The Transformations of Political Representation (1990–2010) (Athens). Sakoulas (in Greek).
Vernardakis, C. (2012). The Greek Left in the 2012 Elections: The return to the Class Vote. transform! 11. Available at: http://www.transform-network.net/journal/issue-112012/news/detail/Journal/the-greek-left-in-the-2012-elections-the-return-to-the-class-vote.html. Accessed 4 July 2022.
Verney, S. (1989). ‘Compromesso Storico’: Reunion and Renewal on the Greek Left. Journal of Communist Studies, 5(4), 200–206.
Yannakakis, I. (1969). The Greek Communist Party. New Left Review, I(54), 47–54.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank the editors of this volume for their assistance and support and also Nikos Erinakis, Vassilis Karamalegos, Panagiotis Koustenis and Aimilia Vilou.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Eleftheriou, C. (2023). Greece. In: Escalona, F., Keith, D., March, L. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Radical Left Parties in Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56264-7_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56264-7_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-56263-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-56264-7
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)