Competing modes of coordination in the Greek anti-austerity campaign, 2010–2012

Abstract

Collective reactions to the Greek debt crisis and the austerity measures imposed by consecutive Greek governments in accordance with the Troika of lenders (European Central Bank, European Commission, IMF) have been widely reported by the media; however, the study of contentious events and episodes has only recently started on a systematic basis. Since the beginning of the debt crisis, an impressive series of large protests and general strikes occurred in Greece against austerity policies. In this paper, we will focus on the main organizations/groups that called and coordinated 31 large protest events from February 2010 until November 2012. Our sample includes trade unions, political parties of the left, anarchist groups, students, justice oriented groups, professional organizations, and Indignados, while their repertoires of contention are combinations of demonstrative, confrontational and violent protests, direct-democratic action, threats, symbolic violence or/and destruction of property. Viewing collective action as an operation of inter-organizational networks that also comprise different and competing modes of coordination, our aim here is to examine how these very different groups managed to work together or, to what extent they did so. Were the differences in the ideological patterns of each challenging group an obstacle to inter-organizational alliances? How did threat and the changing political opportunity structure shape the Greek anti-austerity campaign?