The Greek anti-vaccination social movement and the 'underdog' culture

This report analyzes the emergence of the Greek anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic as a socially embedded, culturally meaningful response rather than a purely medical or informational failure.

Combining survey data, social network analysis, interviews, and discourse analysis, it situates vaccine resistance within long-standing patterns of mistrust toward institutions, clientelism, social fragmentation, and an “underdog” cultural tradition hostile to liberal modernity. The study shows how vaccine hesitancy converged with broader anti-systemic narratives—anti-globalization, anti-EU, and conspiratorial worldviews—transforming public health opposition into a morally charged challenge to institutional authority and democratic governance.

Meet our speaker and chair

Manussos Marangudakis is a Professor within the Department of Sociology at the University of the Aegean.

Professor Vassilis Monastiriotis is Director of the LSE Centre for Research on Contemporary Greece and Cyprus - Hellenic Observatory, Professor in Political Economy and Eleftherios Venizelos Chair of Contemporary Greek Studies at the European Institute, LSE.

The Hellenic Observatory (@HO_LSE) is internationally recognised as one of the premier research centres on contemporary Greece and Cyprus. It engages in a range of activities, including developing and supporting academic and policy-related research; organisation of conferences, seminars and workshops; academic exchange through visiting fellowships and internships; as well as teaching at the graduate level through LSE's European Institute.

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LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.