The ECB and the Greek Public Sector
摘要
The aim of the chapter is to present an account of the Greek and the Eurozone crisis, placing the interrelation of the public sector and the European Central Bank (ECB) at the centre. In contrast to the predominant accounts of the sovereign debt crisis, I show, through a documents analysis, how the crisis was generated in the private sector and then transferred onto the public sector. The ECB’s Ordoliberal character will be discussed, and I will demonstrate how this legacy has shaped the nature of the central bank’s interventions. The production of knowledge concerning the crisis within the ECB will also be elucidated, as will the concept of “machinic enslavement” which was implemented for the interrogation of non-representational measures. The enormous exposure of central European banks to Greece in relation to public and private debt is crucial in promoting an understanding of the intention behind designing and implementing bailout programmes, as well as their timing. The chapter will also include a detailed comparison of the ECB policies and interventions in the 2010s and 2020s.