Christos A. Frangonikolopoulos

Reinforcing global legitimacy and efficiency: the case for strategic discursive public diplomacy

Although we have gone a long way from old to new public diplomacy, it is widely accepted that it underperforms. We thus aim to offer strong grounds for the term strategic discursive public diplomacy and to show how taking this path can fundamentally refocus and improve the practice of public diplomacy. Strategic refers to the need to refocus the thematic orientation of public diplomacy: instead of working predominantly on issues of culture and education, public diplomacy should focus on the mounting threats common for all. The discursive element boils down to a shift of public diplomacy towards fully explaining one’s policies and showing how they contribute to the delivery of global public goods. Strategic discursive public diplomacy, then, focuses on the principal issues of global politics and engages foreign publics in an open debate with the aim to communicate standpoints, but also listen and reply to potential counter-arguments. This becomes an important means in dealing with the accountability, trans...

Russia's Re-emergence in the Global System: Globalising or Anti-Globalising Force?

Globalisations advent is based on the dominant role of liberalism in the development and organisation of the world system. In both economic and political realms, liberal values and theories guide the process of globalisation. Todays neoliberal form of globalisation, however, is under attack nowadays. While attention is usually directed to anti-globalisation movements, this article examines Russias re-emergence in the global system and her impact on globalisation. It argues that, politically and economically, Russia acts principally as an ‘anti-globalising’ force. She rejects western style capitalism, and retains a strong role for the state in economic activities. She fights against US supremacy and works for the establishment of a multi-polar global system. In this attempt, Russia aims to establish a Russian-led regional zone in her near abroad, thus fortifying regional tendencies and countering globalising trends.

Economic crisis and civil society in Greece new forms of engagement & ‘deviations’ from the past

This book guides the reader along the very intricate path of One Hundred Years of Citizenship, characterized by the complex interplay of civic, ethnocentric, multi-ethnic and supranational forms of political community. Constitutional reforms, citizenship laws and policies are analysed with great detail and clarity, particularly as their exclusionary aspect emerged throughout the dissolution of the Yugoslav Federation and affirmation of post-Yugoslav states. While giving a powerful account of how citizenship is ultimately a social and political relationship open to re-negotiations at the local, national and supra-national level, it perhaps lacks an equally thorough analysis of the everyday-life aspect of citizenship(s) (Tilly 1996, 12). The (social) exclusion of the ‘non-working people’ in socialist Yugoslavia, for example, could have been explored vis-à-vis the supposedly all-inclusive citizenship policies of the Federation. A bottom-up analysis of the impact of these historical transformations onto citizens’ identity and self-identification would have at points enriched the analysis with additional explanations for the Federal collapse from within. Regardless, Nations and Citizens in Yugoslavia and the Post-Yugoslav States remains an insightful, well-argued and refreshing read for those interested in citizenship studies, politics of nation building and South-East Europe alike.

Greek NGOs in the press: Trends in the presentation of Greek NGOs before and during the financial crisis

This research is an attempt to discover diachronic trends in the presentation of Greek non-governmental organizations in two of the most influential contemporary hard-news newspapers in Greece, Kathimerini and To Vima. Drawing heavily on theories of media coverage and their relation to the non-governmental organizations, this article combines quantitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis so as to designate the crucial role of the media to the presentation of the non-governmental organizations in Greece. The research covers a wide period of 10 years (2004–2014), including several years before and during the financial crisis. Which are the main characteristics of the non-governmental organizations’ representations by the Press? Which alterations has the crisis context brought to these representations? What new forms of voluntarism has the crisis created? How does the Press ‘react’ toward the ‘insurgents’ of the non-governmental organizations field? These are some of the questions seeking answers in an under constant transformation media field.