Alternatives: Methodology for a new politics: changing the ‘operating system’ of the left after the Greek experience of 2015

Abstract

The “SYRIZA experience” provides valuable insights into the inadequacies of the traditional Left methodology to engage effectively with the state and the government within the neoliberal framework. The political imagination and methodology of the Left need to be modified, and I argue that we need a new conceptual and organizational framework of doing politics—both within the state and outside of it—that is relevant to the current situation.

Keywords:

• Building power
• democracy
• methodology of politics
• neoliberalism
• SYRIZA

Note

Acknowledgements

This article is based on the 2016 Phyllis Clarke Memorial Lecture, March 2016.

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes on contributor

Andreas Karitzis is a former member of SYRIZA’s Central Committee and Political Secretariat. He is also a founding member of the Komvos (hub) for Social Economy, Empowerment and Innovation.

Notes

1 After five years of harsh austerity policy and neoliberal reforms being implemented under a regime of tight policy control by the lenders of the country, disastrous social and economic results, and huge mobilizations and movements across the country, a Left party (SYRIZA) won the January 2015 elections with the democratic mandate to stop further decline. After months of negotiations, hostile actions on behalf of the lenders, and a victorious referendum, the SYRIZA government conceded, and committed to continuing the same course. The SYRIZA experience refers to the perplexities and problems that a Left party in government faced during this time. The lecture focuses on specific aspects of the SYRIZA experience.