RICE UNIVERSITY The Struggle for Modern Athens: Unconventional Citizens and the Shaping of a New Political Reality by Othon Alexandrakis A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE Doctor of Philosophy APPROVED, THESIS COMMITTEE: ttill g^ jLS^x£ft //t/T- Jafmelames Faubi((nFaubioV, Professor, Anthropology Amy Ninetto, Assistant Professor^Anthropology Lora Wildenthal, Associate Professor, History Eugenia Georges, Professor, Anthropology HOUSTON, TEXAS FEBRUARY 2010 UMI Number: 3421434 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. UMT Dissertation Publishing UMI 3421434 Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the 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 Copyright Othon Alexandrakis 2010 ABSTRACT The Struggle for Modern Athens: Unconventional Citizens and the Shaping of a New Political Reality by Othon Alexandrakis The dissertation is based on over one-and-a-half years of ethnographic field research conducted in Athens, Greece, among various diverse populations practicing unconventional modes of citizenship, that is, citizenship imagined and practiced in contradiction to traditional, prescribed, or sanctioned civil identities. I focus specifically on newcomer undocumented migrant populations from Africa, the broadly segregated and disenfranchised Roma (Gypsy) community, and the rapidly growing anti- establishment youth population. The work maps the shifting narrative, physical, and ideological topographies these communities occupy separately, and during times when they coalesce. I posit that, both in their everyday struggles and at times when their actions spill into public spheres, be it for economic, social, political, or other reasons, these communities influence how the broader population perceives and practices modern citizenship. To outline the wider socio-political and economic context of this work, an ethnographic account of each of these communities is provided separately, exploring both their contemporary circumstances and the historical trajectories and conditions that brought them about. This is followed by a closer examination of two cases in which these communities come together. The first case concerns the cooperation of members of the undocumented African migrant and Roma communities in the transportation and selling of various illegal and gray-market goods. The second case concerns the spontaneous coalescence of anti-establishment youth, undocumented migrants, and the Roma during the December 2008 civil unrest in Athens. Through these ethnographic accounts and case studies I develop the conceptual and theoretical framework that supports the central arguments of this work. In conclusion I demonstrate that citizens are turning away from state-sanctioned discourses descriptive/prescriptive of a nation-centered citizenship and, crucially, are beginning to reconsider modern civic identity and democratic engagement in relation to the influence unconventional citizens are having on the various public and private spaces where these are negotiated and enacted. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would never have been written without the support, patience and encouragement of my wife, Jordana Alexandrakis. She accompanied me to Athens in 2006. Together we worked hard to make our little health NGO a success, and she helped me to navigate the various intellectual puzzles and complexities of conducting fieldwork. Along the way we experienced some of the happiest and most frightening times of our lives. Although Jordana appears only sparingly in the following (her own request), the reader should know that she was often with me on-site, and always behind me. Jordana: you made this adventure possible and I dedicate this work to you. Financial support for my time at Rice and my research in Athens was provided, in part, by a generous Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC) Fellowship. I am grateful to SSHRCC for all their support. I am indebted to a number of people at the Department of Anthropology, Rice University. Among them I would like to single out Amy Ninetto and Nia Georges. Both Amy and Nia provided invaluable critical feedback on article manuscripts and numerous dissertation drafts. Also, I whish to thank Stephen Tyler for teaching one of the most inspiring classes of my academic career, and Carole Speranza who put up with me in her good way. My years at Rice were also enhanced by my cohort and by the many others I met both within and beyond the hedges. Among them I wish to thank: Brian Riedel, Katia V Belousova, Elise McCarthy, Valerie Olson, Michael Adair-Kriz, Neni Panourgia, Heath Cabot, Tina Palivos, Elizabeth Davis, Katerina Rozakou, George Marcus, Susan Ossman, Roland Moore, Theo Alexandridi, Anne Meneley, and Paul Manning. My special thanks to Aimee Placas. Aimee made me feel welcome in Houston and then again in Athens. She was also there for me at a time when I was convinced I would never finish my dissertation. Aimee, I sincerely appreciate your support over the years. Most of all, however, I am indebted and deeply grateful to Jim Faubion. Jim gave me freedom to think about anything I found interesting, and provided guidance when I got lost along the way. He knew exactly what I needed, and he knew exactly when to push me. One of the reasons I came to Rice was to be close to the author of Modern Greek Lessons, a text that changed the way I looked at Athens. I am leaving Rice with a mentor (as you put it, Jim, in that time-honored and most encompassing sense of the term), and with the hope that some day I will be able to do for another student what Jim has done for me. Also, I offer my humble thanks to the many people who helped me along the way in Greece, especially my family. I am particularly grateful to George, Mary and the entire Englezos family. Also, Aliki and Eleni Alexandrakis were our foundation and a source of inspiration for me. Both sides of the family helped Jordana and me through the most difficult times we faced in Athens, and reminded us every weekend that family is where the heart lives. I cannot thank you all enough for your kindness, hospitality, and boundless support. I also wish to mention Othon Alexandrakis (Sr.), and Aristidi and vi Katina Englezos. Although you are gone, your lives and our many conversations remain in my thoughts and in my heart. You also influenced this work. As ever, I wish to thank my parents, Roula and Costas Alexandrakis, for their support and fierce encouragement. A special thanks to Roula for her careful editing of the Greek in the text that follows. Finally, my sister Catrina Alexandrakis lived the trials and tribulations of the grad student life along with me, albeit in Calgary, Canada, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in the Geosciences. Her deep intelligence and intuition helped me to work through various professional and theoretical issues along the way. Last, but certainly not least, I also extend heartfelt thanks to my consultants in the field. The people I worked most closely with were patient and kind; I owe them an enormous debt. Also, warmest thanks to my Romani and undocumented migrant consultants, whose names I cannot reveal. Among the many things I learned while working with and alongside these gentle people was that endurance can come from hope, and that strength of spirit can turn sorrow to wisdom. While some of these consultants remain in Athens, I know that many found new pathways that have taken them, variously, away. I wish everyone luck, health, happiness, and to those still searching, bon voyage, KOLXO Spo/jo. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 1 Point of Departure: A View of Athens 1 Methodology 7 Wading In... 12 Chapter 2 14 The Invisible 14 Advocacy: Fighting for a New Migrant Experience of Greece 53 Chapter 3 58 Greek Anarchy: A Historical Constructivist Examination of the 72 Contemporary Tenets of Greek Descent Anarchy in Modern Greek History (1832-1974) 73 Modernization and Greek Socio-Political Change 82 The Rise of an Anti-Establishment Youth: Exploring the Parea 94 Anarchy and Youth Politics 110 Local, Extreme: A Word on the Edges and Evolution of the Greek 118 Political Sphere Chapter 4 122 Identity and the Compound: The Complex of Romani Space and 125 (Inter)Subjectivity Identity and Practice: Negotiating and Being Romani 130 On the Edge of Romani: Feathering in and out of Liminal Space, 139 Negotiating a New Outlaw Being Chapter 5 157 Coalescence: Of Coming Together and Change 157 Points of Contact: A Hidden Political Front 167 Appendix 1 171 Working With the Athenian Roma: Contemporary Research 172 Methodologies for a Complex Field Bibliography 200 1 Chapter 1 Point of Departure: A View of Athens Figure 7: Athens from Lycabettus Hill. The view from the highest point in Athens, Lycabettus Hill, the ancient "hill of light", reveals several otherwise hidden qualities of the city. Athens is relatively small, but it blends seamlessly into the neighboring suburbs making it seem much larger. The urban totality resembles a nearly solid mass of white/gray limestone and concrete stretching from the feet of the surrounding mountains to the ocean, utterly filling the Attica plain. Dotting the expanse are a few large archaeological sites, the Acropolis being the most famous, and two or three large parks. High above the city the din of street life becomes a distant murmur accompanied by the chirp of birds, cicadas and the clinking of glasses from a nearby cafe (see figure 1).