Greece's Horizons—Reflecting on the Country's Assets and Capabilities

The Greek economic crisis has imperilled the stability of the eurozone, generating much global anxiety. Policymakers, analysts, and the media have daily debated the course of the Greek economy, prescribing ways to move forward. This collection of essays progressively moves from an analysis of the causes of the crisis and the policy responses so far to a debate on some of the country's advantages and capabilities that should underpin its new development model and propel the return to growth. The book analytically chooses to view the glass as half-full and seeks to provide motivation and inspiration for change by indicating some of the economic sectors where Greece maintains a comparative advantage. Therefore, it challenges the emerging picture of Greece as a country doomed to failure, where everything falls apart.

Pantelis Sklias (1969) is Associate Professor of International Political Economy at the Department of Political Science and International Relations of the University of Peloponnese. He graduated (1990) from the Department of International Studies of Panteion University in Athens. He was awarded both his MA in International Relations (1991) and his PhD in International Political Economy (1998) from the University of Sussex (UK). He accomplished (2000) his post doctorate thesis at the Hellenic Center of Political Research of Panteion University with a fellowship from the State Fellowship Foundation. From 1999 until 2002 he has been a Visiting Research Fellow of the Postgraduate Center for Culture, Development and the Environment (CDE) of the University of Sussex. He has also taught in the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia, the Department of International Economic Relations and Development of the Democritus University of Thrace and the School of Humanities of the Hellenic Open University. His research interests include: institutions, states and markets, global governance, global political and economic relations, international development and civil society. Nikolaos Tzifakis is Lecturer in International Relations in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Peloponnese, and Research Associate at the Centre for European Studies in Brussels. He is a graduate of the Department of Political Science and International Studies of Panteion University of Athens (1996), and holds an MA with distinction in International Relations and Strategic Studies (1997) and a PhD in International Relations from Lancaster University, UK (2002). He has taught as Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Political Science of the University of Crete, the Department of Geography of the Harokopion University of Athens and the School of Humanities of the Hellenic Open University. His research interests include contemporary developments in the Balkans, EU external policies and international relations theory. In 2008, he was awarded the Marcel Cadieux Distinguished Writing Award for his co-authored article with Professor Asteris Huliaras in International Journal.