Exceptionalising the Crisis, Normalising Austerity

Ch. 6. P. 182–212.

Mylonas Y.

Chapters 4 and 5 presented the cultural and moral construction of the Greek crisis in the European mainstream media. Both dimensions are interrelated and stem from authoritative political and economic institutions and estab-lishments. The technocratic expertise of neoliberal economists in particular, outlines the economic crisis in a seemingly depoliticised manner. Acts of de-politicisation though are in themselves highly political as they aim at advanc-ing particular political agendas (Dean, 2009b: 23). In our case, these agendas derive from the politics of the neoliberal right in the EU, associated with the overall neoliberal project of advancing and safeguarding capitalist globaliza-tion (Slobodian, 2018).The cultural and the moral construction of the crisis (alleged) perpetrators, is connected to the hegemonic politics of the crisis. The mainstream media’s sensualistic crisis representations intensify the specific politics.

Keywords: Neoliberalism, technocracy, post politics, post democracy

In book

The “Greek Crisis” in Europe: Race, Class and Politics

Mylonas Y. Leiden: Brill, 2019.