DOCSLIB.ORG

Greece Political Briefing: SYRIZA and the Center-Left Political Spectrum George N

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Greece Political Briefing: SYRIZA and the Center-Left Political Spectrum George N ISSN: 2560-1601 Vol. 15, No. 1 (GR) February 2019 Greece political briefing: SYRIZA and the center-left political spectrum George N. Tzogopoulos 1052 Budapest Petőfi Sándor utca 11. +36 1 5858 690 Kiadó: Kína-KKE Intézet Nonprofit Kft. [email protected] Szerkesztésért felelős személy: Chen Xin Kiadásért felelős személy: Huang Ping china-cee.eu 2017/01 SYRIZA and the center-left political spectrum In view of the next national election SYRIZA presents itself as a political party representing the center-left political spectrum in Greece. This tendency has caused frustration to the Movement for Change, widely known as PASOK a few years ago. It boosts the attempt of Premier Tsipras to attract additional social-democratic voters. This effort of Tsipras might not only have a short-term effect but possibly be a key factor for Greek politics in the long-term.. Following the next national election, even if SYRIZA will lose to New Democracy as opinion polls are projecting, the political battle to cover the center-left political spectrum will continue. The pre-election period has already started in Greece. Irrespective of the timing of the new national election, the governing SYRIZA party is elaborating on its strategies to persuade Greek citizens about the efficiency of its political agenda. Different priorities can be sketched out. Perhaps the most significant one has been the trend of the party to cover the center-left political spectrum which traditionally belonged to the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). PASOK, currently known as the Movement for Change, is stigmatized for being largely responsible for the Greek economic crisis and the country’s bankruptcy. So, as long as the latter is considered unreliable by the majority of Greeks and its percentages in opinion polls remain low, SYRIZA presents itself as a social-democratic party. While SYRIZA is part of the family of leftist parties at the European level, it sees a clear opportunity to practically replace PASOK in Greek politics. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has made a political opening to politicians belonging to the old-PASOK, in particular the ones who are close to former Prime Minister George Papandreou. The recent reshuffle of the Greek government has been indicative. Thanos Moraitis, a long-time PASOK cadre who also served in Papandreou’s cabinet from 2009 until 2011 was appointed as deputy infrastructure minister. And Angelos Tolkas, another erstwhile PASOK cadre, was selected as deputy migration policy minister. Against this backdrop, several commentators are posing the question whether a ‘PAKOKization’ of SYRIZA or a ‘SYRIZAtion’ of former PASOK members has already started to take place. Generally speaking, the process is not new but began a few years ago. The main difference is that SYRIZA is currently a governing party and not a protest one as it had been the case in 2011 when it first embraced some PASOK politicians 1 Tsipras seeks to create what he calls a ‘progressive front’. The official reaction of both the Movement of Change and To Potami has been negative. As a result the proposed front has not yet materialized a party level. In particular, the leader of the Movement of Change Fofi Gennimata said at a meeting of her party’s executive secretariat: ‘we are at war with Tsipras and his cabal’ while the party issued a statement accusing Tsipras of trying to ‘loot’ it. The government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos commented SYRIZA expressed and represented the progressive people of Greece and criticized Gennimata for being herself responsible for keeping her party away from the proposed front. For his part, the leader of To Potami Stavros Theodorakis, who disagrees with Gennimata on other fronts, shares her view about Tsipras’ proposal for a ‘progressive front’. In his opinion, his support for the Prespes Agreement does not mean a simultaneous support for SYRIZA. The potential creation of a ‘progressive front’ may be an ambitious project but does not necessarily finds SYRIZA united. The so-called ‘Group of 53’, a radical faction within the party, has been skeptical. It believes that by giving ministerial positions to former PASOK members, SYRIZA risks to demonstrate signs of opportunism in its day-to-day politics. In so doing, it might indirectly boost the narrative of New Democracy that the governing party is offering cabinet posts to former PASOK members in exchange for political support. Moreover, the ‘Group of 53’, a special leftist political group within SYRIZA argues the task to find common ground with officials of the center-left should be the job of the party and not of the government. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras looks at the coming national election when proposing the creation of a ‘progressive front’. He seeks to send a message to potential supporters of the Movement for Change that SYRIZA could offer a better political alternative for them. The effort will be practically assessed in the next national election when the political behavior of voters will be measured. The risk the Greek Premier undertakes is the possible political rallying of supporters of the Movement for Change. These supporters could see the initiative of Tsipras as threatening the very existence of the Movement for Change and could therefore vote for this party in the next national election. Some of them are also emotionally linked to PASOK and also Fofi Gennimata as her father was a historical PASOK member. This is perhaps the main reason Gennimata managed to win the internal leadership battle against a much younger candidate, Nikos Androulakis. While attention is being naturally directed towards the next national election, Tsipras’ choices should not only be seen from a short-term perspective. Even if SYRIZA loses the next election as all opinion polls are anticipating, the political future of Tsipras can be bright. He is 2 young, now more experienced in comparison to his pre-2015 political career and will have to be patient as the leader of the main-opposition in order to come to power again in the national election that will take place in 2023. It is not expected Tsipras will face internal challenges within SYRIZA. He brought the party into power four years ago and managed to survive from 2015 until 2019 on the grounds of delicate political maneuvering. A potential stay in the opposition will perhaps make Tsipras more mature to elaborate on the ‘progressive front’ agenda. Under current circumstance, his party leadership will hardly be contested and therefore he will be able to implement the already launched political strategy concerning the center-left political spectrum. As already mentioned, several former PASOK politicians have joined SYRIZA. Some of them, who have refrained from making this step yet, are seriously considering this possibility in the long-term. These do not only include aides of former premier Papandreou but also supporters of another former PASOK prime minister, Costas Simitis. Additionally, intellectuals defining themselves as belonging to the center-left political spectrum are searching for their new political affiliation. Events and discussions discussing this issue are frequently taking place in Greece. The poor performance of the Movement for Change in opinion polls and limited chances for a dynamic recovery are the main reasons why the party is not any longer attractive for numerous former PASOK members. The next national election will be possibly followed by the formation of a coalition government composed of New Democracy and the Movement for Change. The latter is expected to be the minor coalition partner. Fofi Gennimata will negotiate with the leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis for some of her colleagues to occupy key ministries in the government. Although this governmental aura will certainly empower the Movement for Change, it does not necessarily mean this party will be able to overcome its problems, regain its reputation, inspire the society and make a successful comeback as the key social-democratic player in Greek politics. By contrast, a potential damage of the image of the new Greek government in the medium-term will definitively bury such a political ambition from the part of Gennimata. As the leader of SYRIZA in the opposition, Tsipras will not only have the opportunity to criticize the Movement for Change for possible governmental failures or omissions but also to invest political capital on the creation of the ‘progressive front’. Additionally, he will be able to consult with disenchanted politicians and intellectuals, who might be marginalized by Gennimata in the next coalition government and modernize his party according to relevant European standards. The 2023 national election will be organized under a different electoral 3 law that abolishes the bonus of 50 seats for the first party. Tsipras believes a solid social- democratic front will function as a successful political pole in a period during which Greece is heading towards the need of forming broader coalitions. Conclusion Before the outbreak of the economic crisis, SYRIZA had been a leftist political party fighting to surpass the 3 percent threshold and enter parliament. After 2009, it saw the crisis as an opportunity to increase its percentages by attracting voters who were disappointed with mainstream political parties. In so doing, it won the election of January 2015 promising the implementation of a revolutionary agenda that would, among others, have included the renegotiation of the bailout. SYRIZA landed into reality in July 2015 and following its acceptance of a new bailout, it has acted as a mainstream political party. Four years after its victory in the election of 2015, SYRIZA is looking towards the future and endeavors to politically capitalize. It believes it is now successfully representing the center-left political spectrum causing anger in the Movement for Change. The next years will define if Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will determine whether he will succeed in forging a ‘progressive front’ under SYRIZA.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 10 Ecosy Congress
    10 TH ECOSY CONGRESS Bucharest, 31 March – 3 April 2011 th Reports of the 9 Mandate ECOSY – Young European Socialists “Talking about my generation” CONTENTS Petroula Nteledimou ECOSY President p. 3 Janna Besamusca ECOSY Secretary General p. 10 Brando Benifei Vice President p. 50 Christophe Schiltz Vice President p. 55 Kaisa Penny Vice President p. 57 Nils Hindersmann Vice President p. 60 Pedro Delgado Alves Vice President p. 62 Joan Conca Coordinator Migration and Integration network p. 65 Marianne Muona Coordinator YFJ network p. 66 Michael Heiling Coordinator Pool of Trainers p. 68 Miki Dam Larsen Coordinator Queer Network p. 70 Sandra Breiteneder Coordinator Feminist Network p. 71 Thomas Maes Coordinator Students Network p. 72 10 th ECOSY Congress 2 Held thanks to hospitality of TSD Bucharest, Romania 31 st March - 3 rd April 2011 9th Mandate reports ECOSY – Young European Socialists “Talking about my generation” Petroula Nteledimou, ECOSY President Report of activities, 16/04/2009 – 01/04/2011 - 16-19/04/2009 : ECOSY Congress , Brussels (Belgium). - 24/04/2009 : PES Leaders’ Meeting , Toulouse (France). Launch of the PES European Elections Campaign. - 25/04/2009 : SONK European Elections event , Helsinki (Finland). Speaker on behalf of ECOSY. - 03/05/2009 : PASOK Youth European Elections event , Drama (Greece). Speaker on behalf of ECOSY. - 04/05/2009 : Greek Women’s Union European Elections debate , Kavala (Greece). Speaker on behalf of ECOSY. - 07-08/05/2009 : European Youth Forum General Assembly , Brussels (Belgium). - 08/05/2009 : PES Presidency meeting , Brussels (Belgium). - 09-10/05/2009 : JS Portugal European Election debate , Lisbon (Portugal). Speaker on behalf of ECOSY.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise of Syriza: an Interview with Aristides Baltas
    THE RISE OF SYRIZA: AN INTERVIEW WITH ARISTIDES BALTAS This interview with Aristides Baltas, the eminent Greek philosopher who was one of the founders of Syriza and is currently a coordinator of its policy planning committee, was conducted by Leo Panitch with the help of Michalis Spourdalakis in Athens on 29 May 2012, three weeks after Syriza came a close second in the first Greek election of 6 May, and just three days before the party’s platform was to be revealed for the second election of 17 June. Leo Panitch (LP): Can we begin with the question of what is distinctive about Syriza in terms of socialist strategy today? Aristides Baltas (AB): I think that independently of everything else, what’s happening in Greece does have a bearing on socialist strategy, which is not possible to discuss during the electoral campaign, but which will present issues that we’re going to face after the elections, no matter how the elections turn out. We haven’t had the opportunity to discuss this, because we are doing so many diverse things that we look like a chicken running around with its head cut off. But this is precisely why I first want to step back to 2008, when through an interesting procedure, Synaspismos, the main party in the Syriza coalition, formulated the main elements of the programme in a book of over 300 pages. The polls were showing that Syriza was growing in popularity (indeed we reached over 15 per cent in voting intentions that year), and there was a big pressure on us at that time, as we kept hearing: ‘you don’t have a programme; we don’t know who you are; we don’t know what you’re saying’.
    [Show full text]
  • Download/Print the Study in PDF Format
    GENERAL ELECTION IN GREECE 7th July 2019 European New Democracy is the favourite in the Elections monitor Greek general election of 7th July Corinne Deloy On 26th May, just a few hours after the announcement of the results of the European, regional and local elections held in Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (Coalition of the Radical Left, SYRIZA), whose party came second to the main opposition party, New Analysis Democracy (ND), declared: “I cannot ignore this result. It is for the people to decide and I am therefore going to request the organisation of an early general election”. Organisation of an early general election (3 months’ early) surprised some observers of Greek political life who thought that the head of government would call on compatriots to vote as late as possible to allow the country’s position to improve as much as possible. New Democracy won in the European elections with 33.12% of the vote, ahead of SYRIZA, with 23.76%. The Movement for Change (Kinima allagis, KINAL), the left-wing opposition party which includes the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), the Social Democrats Movement (KIDISO), the River (To Potami) and the Democratic Left (DIMAR), collected 7.72% of the vote and the Greek Communist Party (KKE), 5.35%. Alexis Tsipras had made these elections a referendum Costas Bakoyannis (ND), the new mayor of Athens, on the action of his government. “We are not voting belongs to a political dynasty: he is the son of Dora for a new government, but it is clear that this vote is Bakoyannis, former Minister of Culture (1992-1993) not without consequence.
    [Show full text]
  • Greece Political Briefing: an Assessment of SYRIZA's Review
    ISSN: 2560-1601 Vol. 26, No. 1 (GR) Febr 2020 Greece political briefing: An assessment of SYRIZA’s review George N. Tzogopoulos 1052 Budapest Petőfi Sándor utca 11. +36 1 5858 690 Kiadó: Kína-KKE Intézet Nonprofit Kft. [email protected] Szerkesztésért felelős személy: Chen Xin Kiadásért felelős személy: Huang Ping china-cee.eu 2017/01 An assessment of SYRIZA’s review In February 2020 the central committee of SYRIZA approved the party’s review covering the period from January 2015 until July 2019. While the performance of SYRIZA after the summer of 2015 was largely based on bailout obligations and was efficient, its stance in the first semester of that year stigmatized not only the national economy but also the party itself. The review discusses successes and failures and constitutes a useful document in the effort of the main opposition party to learn by its mistakes and develop attractive governmental proposals. A few months after the general election of July 2019, the main opposition SYRIZA party is keeping a low profile in domestic politics. Its electoral defeat has required a period of self- criticism and internal debate in order for the party to gradually start formulating new policies which will perhaps allow it to win the next national election. Against this backdrop, three experienced politicians, former vice-President of the government Yiannis Dragasakis, former Shipping Minister Theodoros Dritsas and former Education Minister Aristides Baltas prepared a review of the party’s 4.5 administration year. The review was presented to SYRIZA’s central committee at the beginning of February 2020 and was subsequently approved.
    [Show full text]
  • Euroscepticism in Political Parties of Greece
    VYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND DIPLOMACY DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE Eimantas Kočanas EUROSCEPTICISM IN POLITICAL PARTIES OF GREECE Master’s Thesis Contemporary European politics study program, state code 621L20005 Political sciences study direction Supervisor: Prof. Doc. Mindaugas Jurkynas Defended: PMDF Dean - Prof. Doc. Šarūnas Liekis Kaunas 2016 European Union is like a painting displayed in a museum. Some admire it, others critique it, and few despise it. In all regards, the fact that the painting is being criticized only shows that there is no true way to please everybody – be it in art or politics. - Author of this paper. 1 Summary Eimantas Kocanas ‘Euroscepticism in political parties of Greece’, Master’s Thesis. Paper supervisor Prof. Doc. Mindaugas Jurkynas, Kaunas Vytautas Magnus University, Department of Diplomacy and Political Sciences. Faculty of Political Sciences. Euroscepticism (anti-EUism) had become a subject of analysis in contemporary European studies due to its effect on governments, parties and nations. With Greece being one of the nations in the center of attention on effects of Euroscepticism, it’s imperative to constantly analyze and research the eurosceptic elements residing within the political elements of this nation. Analyzing eurosceptic elements within Greek political parties, the goal is to: detect, analyze and evaluate the expressions of Euroscepticism in political parties of Greece. To achieve this: 1). Conceptualization of Euroscepticism is described; 2). Methods of its detection and measurement are described; 3). Methods of Euroscepticism analysis are applied to political parties of Greece in order to conclude what type and expressions of eurosceptic behavior are present. To achieve the goal presented in this paper, political literature, on the subject of Euroscepticism: 1).
    [Show full text]
  • DSA's Options and the Socialist International DSA Internationalism
    DSA’s Options and the Socialist International DSA Internationalism Committee April 2017 At the last national convention DSA committed itself to holding an organizational discussion on its relationship to the Socialist International leading up to the 2017 convention. The structure of this mandatory discussion was left to DSA’s internationalism committee. The following sheet contains information on the Socialist International, DSA’s involvement with it, the options facing DSA, and arguments in favor of downgrading to observer status and withdrawing completely. A. History of the Socialist International and DSA The Socialist International (SI) has its political and intellectual origins in the nineteenth century socialist movement. Its predecessors were the First International (1864-1876), of ​ ​ which Karl Marx was a leader, and the Second International (1889-1916). In the period of ​ the Second International, the great socialist parties of Europe (particularly the British Labour Party, German Social Democratic Party, and the French Section of the Workers International) formed and became major electoral forces in their countries, advancing ideologies heavily influenced by Marx and political programs calling for the abolition of capitalism and the creation of new systems of worker democracy. The Second International collapsed when nearly all of its member parties, breaking their promise not to go to war against other working people, rallied to their respective governments in the First World War. The Socialist Party of America (SPA)—DSA’s predecessor—was one of the very few member parties to oppose the war. Many of the factions that opposed the war and supported the Bolshevik Revolution came together to form the Communist International in 1919, which over the course of the 1920s became dominated by Moscow and by the 1930s had become a tool of Soviet foreign policy and a purveyor of Stalinist orthodoxy.
    [Show full text]
  • Greece Wave 3
    GREECE WAVE 3 Pre-election Study June 2019 Marina Costa Lobo Efstratios-Ioannis Kartalis Nelson Santos Roberto Pannico Tiago Silva Table of Contents 1. Technical Report 2. Report Highlights 3. Most important Problem Facing Greece 4. Ideological Placement of Main Parties 5. Party identification 6. National Issues: Evaluation of the Economy 7. National Issues: Evaluation of the Current Syriza Government 8. National Issues: Economic situation 9. National Issues: Immigration 10. National Issues: PRESPA Agreement 11. Greece and the EU: Membership 12. Greece and the EU: Benefits of Membership 13. Greece and the EU: Political Integration? 14. Greece and the EU: Benefits of the Euro 15. Greece and the EU: Exit from the Euro 1. Technical Report This study is part of the MAPLE Project, ERC – European Research Council Grant, 682125, which aims to study the Politicisation of the EU before and after the Eurozone Crisis in Belgium, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. In each of these countries an online panel will be carried out just before and just after the legislative elections. This report pertains to the pre-election panel of Greece legislative elections 2019 to be held on 7 July. Our questionnaire seeks to model the political context of political choices, and to understand the importance which European attitudes may have in voting behaviour. In Greece, we have partnered with Metron Analysis. We present in this report a number of political attitudes according to stated partisanship in Greece. We are interested in the way in which partisan preferences are related to political attitudes, including national issues as well as those pertaining to the EU.
    [Show full text]
  • Greece and the Case of the 2012
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
    [Show full text]
  • Analyzing the Telecoms Privatization in Greece from a ‘Discursive Institutionalist’ Perspective
    Privatization in the Name of ‘Europe’: analyzing the telecoms privatization in Greece from a ‘discursive institutionalist’ perspective Christos Dimas GreeSE Paper No 41 Hellenic Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe NoveNovembermber 2010 All views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Hellenic Observatory or the LSE © Christos Dimas _ Table of Contents ABSTRACT ______________________________________________________ iii 1. Introduction______________________________________________________ 1 2. Theoretical Background ____________________________________________ 4 2.1. Discursive institutionalism _______________________________________ 4 2.2. Europe as a legitimating factor ___________________________________ 6 3. The case-study ___________________________________________________ 10 3.1. The pro and anti European politics in Greece during the 1970s and 1980s 10 3.2. The Greek disjointed corporatist system ____________________________ 15 3.3. OTE as a case study ___________________________________________ 17 4. Empirical Analysis _______________________________________________ 19 4.1. The Mitsotakis government 1990-1993 ____________________________ 19 4.2. Papandreou governments 1993-1996 ______________________________ 24 4.3. The Simitis governments 1996-2004 ______________________________ 32 4.4. The Karamanlis governments 2004-2009 __________________________ 37 5. Conclusion______________________________________________________ 41 References ________________________________________________________
    [Show full text]
  • Election and Aftermath
    Order Code RS20575 Updated June 9, 2000 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Greece: Election and Aftermath (name redacted) Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Summary Prime Minister Simitis of Greece called an early election for April 9, 2000 because he believed that his government’s achievement in meeting the criteria for entry into the European Monetary Union (EMU) would return his PanHellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party to power. PASOK’s narrow victory endorsed Simitis’s decision, but the opposition New Democracy’s (ND) strong showing also validated Costas Karamanlis’s leadership of that party. The election continued a trend toward bipolarism, as votes for smaller parties, except for the Communists, declined appreciably. Simitis reappointed most key members of his previous government, and brought in close allies and technocrats to carry out a revitalized domestic agenda. In foreign policy, the government will try to continue the Greek-Turkish rapprochement, to help stabilize the Balkans, and to move closer to Europe through the EMU and the European Security and Defense Policy. Greek-U.S. relations are warm, but intermittently troubled by differences over the future of the former Yugoslavia, terrorism and counterterrorism in Greece, and minor issues. This report will be updated if developments warrant. Introduction1 On February 4, 2000, Prime Minister Costas Simitis called an early election for April 9, six months before his government’s term was to expire. On March 9, parliament reelected President Costas Stephanopoulos and Greece applied for membership in the European Monetary Union (EMU) single currency zone.
    [Show full text]
  • The Making of SYRIZA
    Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line Panos Petrou The making of SYRIZA Published: June 11, 2012. http://socialistworker.org/print/2012/06/11/the-making-of-syriza Transcription, Editing and Markup: Sam Richards and Paul Saba Copyright: This work is in the Public Domain under the Creative Commons Common Deed. You can freely copy, distribute and display this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit the Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line as your source, include the url to this work, and note any of the transcribers, editors & proofreaders above. June 11, 2012 -- Socialist Worker (USA) -- Greece's Coalition of the Radical Left, SYRIZA, has a chance of winning parliamentary elections in Greece on June 17, which would give it an opportunity to form a government of the left that would reject the drastic austerity measures imposed on Greece as a condition of the European Union's bailout of the country's financial elite. SYRIZA rose from small-party status to a second-place finish in elections on May 6, 2012, finishing ahead of the PASOK party, which has ruled Greece for most of the past four decades, and close behind the main conservative party New Democracy. When none of the three top finishers were able to form a government with a majority in parliament, a date for a new election was set -- and SYRIZA has been neck-and-neck with New Democracy ever since. Where did SYRIZA, an alliance of numerous left-wing organisations and unaffiliated individuals, come from? Panos Petrou, a leading member of Internationalist Workers Left (DEA, by its initials in Greek), a revolutionary socialist organisation that co-founded SYRIZA in 2004, explains how the coalition rose to the prominence it has today.
    [Show full text]
  • Explaining Change in Greek Policy on EU-Turkey Relations 1996-1999: the Prime Minister’S Leadership Style and the Formulation of the Helsinki Strategy
    1 The London School of Economics and Political Science Explaining Change in Greek Policy on EU-Turkey Relations 1996-1999: The Prime Minister’s Leadership Style and the Formulation of the Helsinki Strategy Kyriakos Moumoutzis A thesis submitted to the European Institute of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, July 2009 UMI Number: U615703 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615703 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 -11 j* j i i y & M ) : ? -a - +x 'S -< -1 12.155M- 2 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made.
    [Show full text]