The fall of dictatorship in Portugal, Spain, and Greece: 50 years on

On 28 May, SEESOX, in cooperation with  the European Studies Centre (ESC) hosted a panel on the fall of dictatorship, and the transitions to democracy, including their legacies on current political developments in Spain, Portugal, and Greece.

The panel consisted of Joao Carlos Espada, Professor at the Institute for Political Studies at the Catholic University of Portugal, Ainhoa Campos Posada, historian at the Universidad Complutense Madrid, and Harris Mylonas, Associate Professor at George Washington University’ Elliott School of International Affairs, focusing on Portugal, Spain, and Greece, respectively. The seminar was chaired by ESC and SEESOX director, Othon Anastasakis.

According to Joao Carlos Espada Portugal, Spain, and Greece are the first cases of what Samuel Huntington called “the third wave of world democratisation” which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of Communism in Central and Easter Europe.

He argued that the military coup that heralded the establishment of democracy in Portugal on 25 April 1974 was followed by a clash between two radically different conceptions of democracy: on the one hand, popular/populist democracy, which was supported by the Communists in Portugal, and on the other, parliamentary democracy. Although (or perhaps because) the Communists were electorally beaten in the first democratic Portuguese elections in April 1975, they attempted a coup in November 1975 and they were defeated by a coalition of left and center-right parties led by Mário Soares, the leader of the Socialist party and lifelong opponent of the far right dictatorship of Salazar.

Dreaming of Europe: Work refugees and the migration crisis

On 28 May 2024, SEESOX, and the European Studies Centre (ESC) hosted Randall Hansen, Canada Research Chair in the Department of Political Science and, Director of the Global Migration Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School, to discuss his upcoming book Dreaming of Europe: Refugees and the Old Continent. Joining the panel to discuss Professor Hansen’s recent work was Catherine Briddick, Andrew W Mellon Associate Professor of International Human Rights and Refugee Law, and a Fellow of St Antony's College. Othon Anastasakis, ESC Director, chaired the seminar.

Through this research project, Hansen sought to understand the migration crisis from the perspective of the refugees themselves. He had undertaken ethnographic research in multiple sites in Europe and Africa, and started his presentation by illustrating the issue at hand through three vignettes. Each of them told the painful story of the arduous and precarious journeys of refugees from Mali, Cameroon, and Nigeria respectively.

He then framed the narrative of the migration crisis and his latest research on the rise of far-right politics in Europe. He argued that because most people in Europe believe the European Union is bad for migration, it is important to ‘get it right’ – that is, it is important to dispel the migration myths and strive to clearly understand the migration problem and implement effective policies to address it.

Hansen first underscored that Europe and the rich countries of the Global North are not hosting the bulk of the world refugee population; 75 percent of the refugees are in the Global South. The EU, according to him, is doing a bit more than the other rich countries, but not much more. This lack of burden-sharing is particularly important since Hansen considered that the West – and Russia – bear the greatest responsibility for the wars that have forced people to become refugees.

Reconceptualising the EU-member states’ relationship in the age of permanent emergency

On Wednesday 8 May, the SEESOX hosted a presentation by Stella Ladi (Queen Mary University of London) on “Coordinative Europeanisation.” Since 2008, the European Union has been engulfed in several crises. While distinct, these crises are feeding into each other and are testing the capacity and resilience of EU and member states. With the Covid-19 crisis, there has been a trend towards a new mode of “coordinative Europeanisation” in EU decision-making, altering the relationships between EU-member states in pursuit of fast policy responses.

Ladi defined coordinative Europeanisation as “a process where increased and often informal coordination between EU member states and EU institutions takes place during a crisis’ early stages in view of quickly devising policy solutions that work for everyone, thereby enhancing decision-making speed, reform ownership and policy compliance.” Coordinative Europeanisation, Ladi argued, may coexist with other pre-existing modes of Europeanisation, such as soft Europeanisation and coercive Europeanisation. At the same time, de-Europeanisation trends have also emerged.

In her research, Ladi seeks to understand the public policy agenda of the EU, asking whether the EU is managing to adequate
ly respond to global crises using existing as well as novel means. She raised three questions in particular. Firstly, in which policy areas is coordinative Europeanisation taking place? Secondly, is coordinative Europeanisation always linked to a crisis and/or an emergency? And thirdly, what kind of policy and governance solutions emerge out of these crises and how successful and long-lasting are they?

The Story Smuggler, or how to narrate the happened and the un-happened

On 8 March 2024, the European Studies Centre, together with South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX), hosted Bulgarian novelist, playwright, and author, Georgi Gospodinov, to discuss three of his works: The Physics of Sorrow (2011), Time Shelter (2020) and The Story Smuggler (2016). The discussion was chaired by Catherine Briddick, Andrew W Mellon Associate Professor of International Human Rights and Refugee Law and fellow of St Antony's College. Paul Betts, Professor of Modern European History and fellow at St Antony’s College, and Marilena Anastasopoulou, ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, provided commentary on Gospodinov’s works.

Gospodinov started by reading from his two books, The Physics of Sorrow and Time Shelter, and briefly discussed the writing process. The two books deal with markedly different themes. The Physics of Sorrow attempts to capture the nature of the Bulgarian sorrow. Gospodinov describes the Bulgarian sorrow as an experience which combines the sorrow of things that did not happen, or places that Bulgarians could not visit despite the hope or longing for them, and the culture of silence, which he describes as a combination of the culture of fear during Communism and patriarchal culture. According to the author, sorrow is both personal and political, connected with the developments in one’s country.

Building European defence through crises

The European Studies Centre, together with South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX), hosted Marilena Koppa, Professor at Panteion University in Athens, Greece. The seminar was held on 22 February 2024 and was chaired by Othon Anastasakis, Director of the European Studies Centre and of SEESOX.

Koppa’s presentation was based on her book The Evolution of the Common Security and Defence Policy: Critical Junctures and the Quest for EU Strategic Autonomy published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2022. The research for the book had taken place before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Koppa presented her analysis on the needs and challenges to build European defence by taking into account this latest crisis that the European Union has had to face.

Koppa noted that her time as a member of the European Parliament, when she also held the position of Coordinator of the Socialist and Democrat Group at the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, had prompted her to research European defence policy as an academic. In her presentation she discussed the origins of European defence, its evolution through crises, and its needs for the future.

Koppa argued that the EU’s Common and Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) sought to build European military capabilities that in the long-term would make the Union a global actor, but it did not seek to provide collective defence, which has been a NATO mission. The defence focus of the CSDP would be to prevent crises outside EU borders from reaching the Union.

The invisible minorities of the Balkans: Challenges and prospects

On 22 November 2023, SEESOX hosted a panel discussion on the often-overlooked Alevi and Bektashi communities in Greece and Albania. The event brought together Evangelos Areteos (MOHA Research Center; ELIAMEP; University of Nicosia), Ayse Karahuseyinoglu (Greek Thrace Alevi Committee), Sara Kuehn (University of Vienna) and Giorgos Mavrommatis (Democritus University of Thrace, Greece) to explore questions of recognition, identity, religious practice, and geopolitics affecting these “double minorities” in the Balkans.

 
Recognition and struggle in Greece

The discussion began with the case of the small Alevi-Bektashi community in Thrace, Greece, numbering approximately 3,000–3,500 people across ten villages. Drawing on fieldwork and community engagement, Evangelos Areteos, Ayse Karahuseyinoglu and Giorgos Mavrommatis outlined how the community has maintained its religious traditions despite demographic pressures and labour migration.

A central issue is legal recognition. While the Muslim minority in Thrace is recognised under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, Alevis/Bektashis are not recognised as a distinct religious community. In 2018, following internal disputes and external interventions, a representative committee was officially recognised by the Greek state. However, full recognition as a separate religious entity remains an ongoing demand.

The panel highlighted the community’s delicate position between Greek and Turkish national frameworks. Both states have historically sought to shape minority identities, complicating efforts at independent recognition. At the same time, the Thrace community has experienced a religious revival over the past two decades. Regular ritual practice, strong institutional structures (including ocak systems), and traditions such as musahiplik (spiritual brotherhood) remain central to communal life.

Presentations also noted generational differences: for older members, Bektashism is primarily a lived religion; for younger members, it increasingly functions as a cultural identity marker to be preserved.

 
Albania: From persecution to institutional recognition

Sara Kuehn then turned to the Albanian case, which presents a markedly different trajectory. Bektashism was introduced to Albania during the Ottoman period and became deeply embedded in Albanian religious and national life. After the abolition of Sufi orders in Turkey in 1925, the Bektashi headquarters moved to Tirana in 1930, establishing Albania as the global centre of the order.

Under communist rule (1945–1990), religious life was severely suppressed. The Bektashi community, like other religious groups, faced persecution and institutional dismantling. Following the restoration of religious freedom in 1990, the community was rebuilt almost from scratch. Today, Bektashism is officially recognised in Albania as one of the country’s four main religious communities, alongside Sunni Muslims, Orthodox Christians, and Catholics.

The Albanian leadership operates within a complex geopolitical landscape. The panel noted visible Iranian and Turkish influences in funding, restoration projects, and symbolic presence. The Bektashi leadership has had to navigate carefully between these external actors while maintaining institutional autonomy.

 
A “double minority” in a transnational context

Giorgos Mavrommatis situated both cases within a broader historical and political framework, emphasising the transition from pre-modern religious orders to modern nation-state structures. Alevis and Bektashis often find themselves as a “double minority”: marginal within Sunni-majority Muslim contexts, yet also minorities within national frameworks shaped by secular or Christian-majority states.

Recent decades, however, have seen increasing transnational mobilisation. Large Alevi diasporas in Western Europe — particularly in Germany — have built strong federations and lobbying networks. These developments are reshaping local dynamics in the Balkans, as communities connect across borders and articulate claims for recognition in new ways.

The discussion concluded by reflecting on how historical legacies, geopolitics, and generational shifts intersect in the ongoing negotiation of minority identity in Southeast Europe. The Greek and Albanian cases demonstrate both the fragility and resilience of heterodox Islamic communities navigating the challenges of recognition in contemporary Europe.

By Julie Adams (ESC Administrator)

Rethinking the Eastern Mediterranean in a volatile world

On 21 November, the European Studies Centre (ESC), in collaboration with the Southeast European Studies Centre at Oxford (SEESOX), held a seminar on the opportunities and challenges of cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

The region has gained increasing importance as the European Union (EU) seeks to meet its energy demands following the near-total ban on the import of Russian gas after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Simultaneously, the region's instability, coupled with a multitude of global crises—including climate change, trade wars, US-China competition, and inflation—makes the Eastern Mediterranean an integral part of the geopolitical landscape, influencing both regional and global power dynamics.

The seminar, held on 21 November, is part of a broader effort by ESC/SEESOX to address these issues through a special project, which is expected to launch in March 2024. The speakers included Alexander Clarkson (King’s College London), Costandinos Filis (American College of Greece), Manal Shahabi (St. Antony’s College, Oxford), and Galip Dalay (St. Antony’s College, Oxford). ESC Director Othon Anastasakis chaired the seminar.