000 03237cam a2200313 i 4500
020 _a9780198717171
020 _a0198717172
082 0 4 _aJN5065 .F4 2015
_b1
100 1 _aFeatherstone, Kevin,
245 1 0 _aPrime ministers in Greece
_bthe paradox of power /
_cKevin Featherstone and Dimitris Papadimitriou.
250 _aFirst edition.
264 1 _aOxford ;
_aNew York :
_bOxford University Press
_c2015.
264 4 _c©2015
_aUK
_bOXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
300 _axiv, 270 pages ;
505 0 _aPoliticians, patronage, and the bureaucratic tradition: the problem of control and coordination within the Greek government -- The leadership factor: the person and the post -- Primus solus: Constantinos Karamanlis as prime minister (1974-80) -- At the centre of a galaxy: Andreas Papandreou as prime minister (1981-9 and 1993-6) -- Institutionalization and micro-management: Constantinos Mitsotakis as prime minister (1990-3) -- Innovation circumscribed: Costas Simitis as prime minister (1996-2004) -- In the shadows of uncertainty: Costas Karamanlis as prime minister (2004-9) -- 'Plus ça change...': change and continuity in the Greek core executive -- Governing in context: international comparisons and reform implications.
520 8 _aThis book is concerned with a large question in one small, but highly problematic case: how can a prime minister establish control and coordination across his or her government? The Greek system of government sustains a 'paradox of power' at its very core. The Constitution provides the prime minister with extensive and often unchecked powers. Yet, the operational structures, processes and resources around the prime minister undermine their power to manage the government. Through a study of all main premierships between 1974 and 2009, 'Prime ministers in Greece' argues that the Greek prime minister has been 'an emperor without clothes'. The costs of this paradox included the inability to achieve key policy objectives under successive governments and a fragmented system of governance that provided the backdrop to Greece's economic meltdown in 2010. Building on an unprecedented range of interviews and archival material, Featherstone and Papadimitriou set out to explore how this paradox has been sustained. They conclude with the Greek system meeting its 'nemesis': the arrival of the close supervision of its government by the 'Troika' - the representatives of Greece's creditors. The debt crisis challenged taboos and forced a self-reflection. It remains unclear, however, whether either the external strategy or the domestic response is likely to be sufficient to make the Greek system of governance 'fit for purpose'.
650 0 _aPrime ministers
650 0 _aPolitical leadership
650 7 _aPolitical leadership.
650 7 _aPolitics and government.
650 7 _aPrime ministers.
650 1 7 _aBinnenlandse politiek.
650 1 0 _aPrime Ministers
700 1 _aPapadimitriou, Dimitris,
856 4 2 _uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1604/2014958034-b.html
856 4 2 _uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1604/2014958034-d.html
856 4 1 _uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1604/2014958034-t.html
942 _2lcc
_cBK
999 _c15392
_d15392