European Union and Globalization Research Paper

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Political unrest is a worldwide occurrence that manifests itself for brief or long periods in many nations. One nation Greece, witnessed political unrest due to globalization efforts. The 2016 article, "Glocal' disorder: Causes, conduct and consequences of the 2008 Greek unrest" by authors Sappho Xenakis and Leonidas K. Cheliotis examines the Athens-based political unrest and its spread to other Greek cities in late 2008. The authors sought to understand why events occurred as they did in Athens to see how local, national, as well as international arenas play a role in shaping localized incidents of chaos.

The article begins with criminological examination of social unrest and riots that have long been subject to comparative and single case studies where transitional/global dimensions of such events have barely featured. Recently however, criminology has considered global and transitional conditions as being important arenas for exploration. Riots in countries are signs of political unrest and potential economic instability (Xenakis & Cheliotis, 2016). The authors set to examine the riots in countries like Greece to understand more what causes political unrest and provide a different perspective on globalization and globalization resistance. "In so doing, we address a range of dimensions proposed by Newburn (this issue) in his 'life-cycle' model of riots, which foregrounds not only the context, nature and dynamics of riots but also, crucially, their aftermath" (Xenakis & Cheliotis, 2016, p. 640).

The authors offer a summary of events of December 2008 as a backdrop for their analysis on the riots in Greece. The riots lasted for three weeks in December and gave Greece a level of civil unrest that originated in Athens and spread to many major and minor urban centers throughout the nation.

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Things escalated quickly when a 15-year-old unarmed boy by the name of Alexis Grigoropoulos was killed by a police officer December 6, 2008. This events was the trigger for the growth and spread of the unrest. "eight consecutive days of rioting in Athens alone, and a wide range of other mobilizations that accompanied the violence and extended beyond it" (Xenakis & Cheliotis, 2016, p. 641).

The damage caused by the riots cost Greece over 1.5 billion Euros and became the most intense episode of unrest the nation has experience since the 1974 restoration of democracy. Some interpreted the events as a 'social uprising' and a means of resisting their country's then current state. Other's saw it as a consequence of an underdeveloped civil society. "By some, the events were framed as nihilistic riots that were the culmination of a culture of permissiveness towards deviance, violence and mindless resistance to change, and were the product, in significant part, of an underdeveloped civil society" (Xenakis & Cheliotis, 2016, p. 641).

Most the Greeks that experienced and were part of the event, saw it as an effect of political violence, malaise, and socioeconomic problems that plagued the country in recent years. In fact, the authors note many protests have sparked, often disruptive in nature due to the changes brought on my globalization and the influence of anti-globalization sentiments. "Many Greek anarchists, for example, shared ideas and made connections….....

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