Night of rioting central Athens

Abstract

This image shows a building on fire in central Athens, Greece, during a night of rioting against the parliamentary approval of new austerity measures. My research addresses the question of why there is more contention and violence in Greece against the implemented austerity, compared to other debt-ridden European countries where similar measures were adopted? Why did the party system in Greece collapse and far right and left parties managed to break into parliamentary politics, while in Ireland and Portugal public discontent was expressed through already institutionalized parties? In order to understand how the economic crisis affects political and social change I am comparing the reaction to austerity in Greece and Ireland. My focus is on the interaction between political parties’ framing of the causes of the crisis, and the way individuals use or refute those frames in their narration of their interests and identities