The Political Economy of Monetary Disunion: Greek Crisis and Ordoliberal Assemblages

This book reassesses the Greek financial crisis of 2010, by placing it within the broader crisis of the European Economic and Monetary Union. This book reassesses the Greek financial crisis of 2010, by placing it within the broader crisis of the European Economic and Monetary Union. It also provides a critical comparison of the EU’s strategies for addressing the Eurozone turmoil and the economic crisis in 2020, caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Whilst it has been broadly accepted among academics and policymakers that the Eurozone turmoil originated in the banking sector and then deterritorialized towards peripheral Economic and Monetary Union countries, the mechanisms implemented for this transformation remain understudied. This book addresses this gap by identifying and analyzing the mechanisms used in Greece and the Economic and Monetary Union to transfer the financial and moral responsibility of the crisis from the private to the public sector. Combining insights from political economy, economics and social studies of finance, it provides a critique of the austerity policies imposed by European institutions, and discusses the ‘green and just transformation’ as the best way forward to overcome the ongoing Eurozone problems. It will appeal to students and scholars of political economy, public administration, economics, and European politics. Radman Šelmić is an institutional adviser specialized in green and circular economics. He has previously worked at the University of Birmingham and the University of Leicester, UK. This book reassesses the Eurozone financial crisis of the 2010s, and critically compares EU strategies for addressing it with those adopted during the Covid-19 and economic crises of the 2020s. Whilst it has been broadly accepted amongst academics and policymakers that the Eurozone turmoil originated in the banking sector and then deterritorialized towards peripheral Economic and Monetary Union countries, the mechanisms implemented for this transformation remain understudied. Using a non-performative reading of Deleuze and Guattari's concept of the assemblage, the book analyses the mechanisms used in Greece and the Economic and Monetary Union to transfer the financial and moral responsibility of the crisis from the private to the public sector. Combining insights from political economy, economics and social studies of finance, this investigation critiques the austerity policies imposed by European institutions, and identifies the ‘green and just transformation’ as the best way forward to address the ongoing Eurozone problems. The book will appeal to students and scholars of political economy, public administration, economics, and European politics.