4. Turbulent Flow: Anti-Austerity Mobilization in Greece

The global financial crisis arrived in Greece in early 2010, when the national government requested an extraordinary 110 billion euros loan from the so-called Troika. The loan agreement was accompanied by harsh austerity terms. By 2014, the impact of the austerity programme was devastating for both the Greek economy and its society. Fostered by a particularly strong movement tradition, the anti-austerity mobilizations in Greece—which began as soon as May 2010—expanded wave after wave as the crisis years went by. This chapter summarizes the main characteristics of the anti-austerity protests and their impact on the political, societal and social movement field. It is argued that the ways in which mobilization evolved not only reflected the tradition established by pre-existing social movement organizations, but also allowed for experimentation and the development of new social movement practices and organizational forms.