The Greek Crisis in Europe: Race, Class and Politics

The Greek Crisis in Europe: Race, Class and Politics, critically analyses the publicity of the Greek debt crisis, by studying Greek, Danish and German mainstream media during the crisis early years (2009-2015). Mass media everywhere reproduced a sensualistic Greek crisis spectacle, while iterating neoliberal and occidentalist ideological myths. Overall, the Greek people were deemed guilty of a systemic crisis, supposedly enjoying lavish lifestyles at the EUs expense. Using concrete examples, this study foregrounds neo-orientalist, neo-racist and classist stereotypes deployed in the construction and media coverage of the Greek crisis. These media practices are connected to the soft politics of the crisis, which produce public consensus over neoliberal reforms such as austerity and privatizations, and secure debt repayment from democratic interventions.