ABSTRACT The article seeks to present an outline of the relationship between socialists, communists and radical leftists in the Greek party system from 1974 to 2020. The article emphasizes the ideological convergence or divergence surrounding the content of a left-wing strategy and, the political coalitions that arose during this period. It identifies three critical junctures (1974, 1992, 2010) which conditioned the development of the relationship between socialists, communists and radical leftists in Greece, which correspond to three related periods of study (1974–92, 1992–2010, and 2010–2020). Finally, it analyzes the four factors that precluded the convergence of socialists, communist and radical leftists: historical legacies of the labour movement in Greece; government-opposition dynamics; conservative party strategies; and intra-party cohesion and conflict.

ABSTRACT This paper explores the impact of divergent threat perceptions on the effectiveness of the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as a regional organization. Through a hybrid constructivist and realist framework, the study examines how GCC member states perceive threats from Iran and Israel while handling the Yemen conflict and the 2017 Gulf Crisis. The analysis reveals that these differing perceptions, rooted in historical, ideological, and geopolitical factors, have led to inconsistent policies and internal discord within the GCC, undermining its collective security objectives. The paper also discusses the implications of recent geopolitical developments, such as the Abraham Accords and shifting (United States) U.S. foreign policy, on the GCC’s cohesion and relevance. Ultimately, the study contributes to the scholarly discourse by offering new insights into the complexities of GCC cooperation and the broader challenges of maintaining stability in an increasingly polarized Middle East.

ABSTRACT This article analyses historically how the priorities set by PASOK in the field of social policy changed according to the choices made by its leadership in relation to grand national strategies. Three major phases are considered to be crucial. In the first, PASOK perceived social policy to be a vehicle for building political alliances in order to promote anti-imperialist strategies. After adopting a pro-European approach to the national grand strategy in 1987, social policy was treated as a tool for creating consensus for the country’s entrance into the Single European Market by emphasizing activation (enactment of individual responsibility) and social rights. In the third stage of PASOK’s political life, social policy has been perceived as a tool for Greece’s participation in the Eurozone and has focused on reorganizing social security and introducing neoliberal means-tested safety-nets.

ABSTRACT Changes in the role of local government institutions regarding social policies can easily be identified at three points of time in the period from 1980 until today. This is not a matter of an arbitrary division, but of decisive points where the course taken by local governments and social policy has intersected in the context of the Third Hellenic Republic. 1 The purpose of this article is to show that the relationship between the institutions of local government and social policy—in addition to being continuous—also illustrates transformations in the content and orientation of formal social protection in Greece.

ABSTRACT This paper examines the clash between Albanian nationalism and the Ottoman Empire, focusing on the role of the Albanian language from the Tanzimat reforms to 1912. The Tanzimat period marked significant political and educational reforms within the 19th-century Ottoman Empire, where elementary education was primarily conducted in religious languages, hindering the development of a unified Albanian national consciousness. This study employs historical and comparative methodologies, utilizing primary and secondary sources to investigate the evolution of Albanian nationalism within the broader context of Balkan nationalist movements. By analysing the role of language in Albanian cultural nationalism and contrasting it with religiously-based nationalisms in neighbouring regions, the paper highlights how efforts to promote the Albanian language as a marker of national identity heightened tensions with Ottoman authorities. The research concludes that the rise of Albanian nationalism, driven by linguistic unity, directly confronted Ottoman interests and mirrored the rise of Turkish nationalism.

ABSTRACT The proliferation of minimum income schemes (MIS) has been linked to structural changes in modern welfare states in an era of multiple crises. Yet, they have been criticized for their limited effectiveness in alleviating poverty and social exclusion. Against this background, this exploratory paper utilizes a mixed methods research approach to provide an updated evaluation of the impact of the Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) in alleviating extreme poverty in Greece. It is argued that, after 6 years of full implementation, the GMI proves to be largely ineffective in alleviating extreme poverty in terms of adequacy, coverage, and its enabling character.

ABSTRACT After Italy attained a national state structure in the second half of the 19th century, it embarked on some imperialist/irredentist activities. It especially targeted the western coasts of Dalmatia, the Balkans, the places in the Mediterranean and in Africa that were not yet dominated by other Great Powers. In the mentioned century, the Ottoman Empire was in various political, economic and social turmoil. Therefore, Italy saw this situation as an opportunity and developed policies to achieve these goals. In this study, based on the materials of The Republic of Turkey, Directorate of State Archives, Ottoman Archive (BOA henceforth), it has been researched how effect on the Ottoman Empire what was done between 1911 and 1912 in order to occupy or at least take control of Albania, which was the key to Italy’s exit to the Balkans. On the other hand, it was tried to determine which initiatives the Ottomans followed closely. In addition, it has been examined how the administrative authorities interpret the developments in Italy and the aims of Italy, and what measures they strive to take.

ABSTRACT This study aims to explore Vehbi Koç’s years as a businessman in Ankara, which took over the position of political and economic centre from Istanbul with the proclamation of the Republic, and his entrepreneurial adventure oscillating between Ankara and Istanbul. As an entrepreneur who saw opportunities, Vehbi Koç’s development of his economic activities and his transition from a tradesman to a merchant played an important role in Ankara’s taking over the title of capital from Istanbul; however, Koç gradually shifted his business from Ankara to Istanbul, which began to lose its economic centrality after the economic depression of 1929. In this context, this study aims to reveal the untouched and unexamined aspects of Vehbi Koç’s entrepreneurial journey between the two cities by focusing on the various activities of Vehbi Koç, who started his entrepreneurial activities in Ankara and moved to Istanbul to pursue new ventures by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by this city through the Ankara-Istanbul dichotomy, which became especially evident with the proclamation of the Republic and Ankara’s becoming the new capital.

ABSTRACT This article critically examines the rise of Islamic neoliberalism within Turkey’s political economy, particularly its impact on the governance of education. With the Justice and Development Party (AKP) coming to power in 2002, Islamic neoliberalism emerged as a hegemonic project, challenging the secular foundations of modernization. This shift was legitimized through two processes: Islamism gained democratic credibility by distancing itself from secularism’s association with military coups, while neoliberalism was promoted as a solution to state inefficiencies. Ostensibly, this model initially fostered economic growth and strengthened Turkey’s EU candidacy, but by the 2010s, democratic backsliding and economic crises ensued. Using a critical global political economy framework, this article argues that AKP governance represents a continuous process, linking Islamic neoliberalism to Turkey’s political and economic crises, and highlighting how promises of progress and growth led to authoritarianism and instability.