Governing Greek islands: From hierarchies to networks?
Prior to the formation of the modern Greek state, the Greek islands were traditionally seen to be practically autonomous. Immediately after the war of independence (1821–1833) a “Napoleonic” and centralist unitary state imposed extensive legal restriction
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Introduction
Prior to the formation of the modern Greek state, the Greek islands were traditionally seen to be practically autonomous. Immediately after the war of independence (1821 – 1833) a “Napoleonic” and centralist unitary state imposed extensive legal restrictions and hierarchical public policies on the islands. However, the Greek islands were able to maintain their distinctive social and economic features, based on traditional societies and small-scale local production structures on the one hand and international shipping and competitive trade on the other. After World War II, the interventionist state initiated highly ambitious public policies in order to integrate the 3 000 fragmented islands (of which 200 were populated) into the national market and state structures. Top down administrative arrangements endeavored to address the plethora of peculiarities characterizing this unique economic, social and cultural island diversity. The rapid economic growth in Greece from the 1950s up to the late 1970s was in the main based on hierarchical and protectionist state policies. There was special emphasis on infrastructure policies supporting the development of tourism. However, since the eighties, this model has come under pressure through the external driving forces of Europeanization and globalization. Long established protectionist policies (e. g. sea and air transportation and regional development) have been challenged as obsolete and inefficient within the new framework of competitiveness and liberalization. Furthermore, new problems and risks emerged through illegal migration and environmental threats, while new opportunities came about through modern technology and sustainable development, especially employing new forms of entrepreneurship and public-private partnerships. Today, islands with their distinctive geographical boundaries face unprecedented challenges. Uncertainty and complexity prevail, while the need for self-organization and new multilevel governance conditions is pressing. The traditional system of closed and hierarchical institutions and public policies was able, in the past, to ensure its own reproduction through a two-fold strategy. On the one hand, there were redistributive social policies and island-specific infrastructure investment and, on the other, a paternalistic distribution of available resources and political power was employed, thereby winning the support of a wide spectrum of actors and localities. However, the external factors
B. Egner et al. (Hrsg.), Regieren, DOI 10.1007/978-3-531-19793-7_30, © VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften | Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden 2012
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Nikos-Komninos Hlepas and Panagiotis Getimis
mentioned above and, especially, the recent financial and debt crisis, have drastically restricted the reproduction capabilities of this traditional hierarchical system. Conflicts and tensions between players and localities and strong claims against the state, were the result of these unprecedented pressures. The recent major functional and territorial reform
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