Manussos Marangudakis, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of the Aegean
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 Associate 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 a leading research centre on contemporary Greece and Cyprus. In 2024, it became the LSE Centre for Research on Contemporary Greece and Cyprus with a strategy to expand its research base within LSE and beyond. The Centre produces world-leading, non-partisan research, critically engaging with key issues and fostering debate among academics, policymakers, and the public. Its work spans academic research, knowledge exchange, and policy impact.
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