IS GREECE EUROPEAN?

By: Robert D. Kaplan

Published: Stratfor; June 6, 2012; http://www.stratfor.com; alternatively, just Google the title and writer’s name. The article is one of Stratfor’s free access articles.

Level of Difficulty: ****

Suggestion: You might want to search out a relevant talk on tedtalks concerning Greek history before attempting the reading task. It is not compulsory but would be a good idea in my view.

QUESTIONS

1.       Read paragraph one carefully. What conclusion can we draw about Greece from this paragraph? There are two possible answers; find them both.

2.       The effect of WWII on Greece was much the same as that of WWI in that both ………………

3.       What is ironical about the effects of the 2004 Olympics on Greece? Use your own words.

4.       Bad policies can be blamed for the current features of the Greek economy but so can the indirect influence of …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

5.       What similarity can be observed between most Greek businesses and Greek political parties?

Use your own words.

6.       In terms of political bias, Greek political parties were, for a long time, very different from their western counterparts in that they were more …………………………………………………………..

7.       The writer equates modernity in politics with …………………………………………………………………….

8.       The reason why Greece was admitted to the EU should not have been ……………………Instead, the decision should have been based on……………………………………………………………………………..

9.       What mistake made by Andreas Papandreou is George Papandreou suffering the consequences of?

10.   What possible danger does the writer hint at in terms of Greek political orientation? What is the reason he gives for this view?

WRITING TASK

After reading the text, do you think Greece is, in fact, a European country or not? Write an opinion essay expounding your views.

IS GREECE EUROPEAN? TEACHER’S NOTES AND KEY

The novelty value of the topic cannot be denied. I can see our students reading this with glee! It also happens to be a very well written analysis and a mine of information. Due to the subject matter, it is not easy though.

1.       Greece is where the west both begins and ends; Greece has a bifurcated legacy.

2.       Had a bloody and epic coda in Greece.

3.       Possible answer: Greece was where the Olympics were born but the 2004 Olympics contributed to the country’s ….

4.       Geography.

5.       Possible answer: both are paternalistic, centered on big personalities and run in families.

6.       Radical or extreme or reactionary.

7.       A turn toward the center.

8.       A quasi historical vision of Europe stretching from Iberia to the Greek peninsula; the state of the Greek economy.

9.       Using the influx of cash from the EU to swell the ranks of the bureaucracy.

10.   Were the Russians ejected from ports in Syria in the wake of regime change, Moscow ….; Greece is short of cash and Russia is enjoying a surplus.