Greek Prime Ministers in the eye of the storm

Join us for this book launch of Greek Prime Ministers in the Eye of the Storm: Crisis Management and Institutional Change, featuring authors Kevin Featherstone and Dimitris Papadimitriou.

When, and how, might crises force institutions to change? Crisis management prompts expectations of exceptional behaviour, leaders raising their 'game', and of being empowered. The Greek crisis of 2009-18 was severe: threatening bankruptcy and Greece's exit from the euro. Yet, in a previous study of 2015, Featherstone and Papadimitriou identified key institutional weaknesses embedded within Greek governments: of poor central control and coordination, the very qualities needed in a crisis. So, how far did the crisis in Greece enable actors to overcome these critical weaknesses? What lessons were drawn, and when? Exploring change in a crisis requires careful case study. Drawing on interviews with an extensive range of personnel, including each crisis Greek prime minister, the authors meticulously explore how the four prime ministers of the period handled the challenges of crisis management.

Meet our speakers and chair

Kevin Featherstone is Emeritus Professor (European Institute) and Research Affiliate at the Hellenic Observatory, LSE. He was Director of the Hellenic Observatory from 2002 to 2024. He served as Head of the European Institute in 2004-7, 2011-12, and 2015-18. He has held visiting positions at the University of Minnesota; New York University; Harvard University; and, the European University Institute (Firenze). Before LSE, he held academic posts at the universities of Stirling and Bradford.

Dimitris Papadimitriou is Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester, where he also serves as the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. In 2006/7 he was a S.J. Seeger Visiting Research Fellow at Princeton University. In 2010 he was a Visiting Fellow at the Macmillan Centre of International and Area Studies, Yale University and a National Bank of Greece Senior Research Fellow at the Hellenic Observatory at LSE. He was the Director of the Manchester Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (2011-2022) and he is currently the co-Editor of the book series on European Politics with Manchester University Press. His is the (co)author/editor of nine books and numerous academic articles. His latest book (co-authored with Kevin Featherstone), Prime Ministers in the Eye of the Storm: crisis management and institutional change in Greece was published by Oxford University Press in 2025.

Declan Costello is the Deputy Director General in DG ECFIN since 2019. He is currently responsible for supervising the work of DG ECFIN’s country desks, the implementation of fiscal surveillance under the Stability and Growth Pact, as well as the design and implementation of the Recovery and Resilience plans. From May 2014, he was the European Commission's Mission Chief for Greece, as part of their Financial Assistance Programme. He joined the European Commission in 1991 and has worked since then in the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs.

Stella Ladi is Professor in Public Policy at Queen Mary University of London and Professor at Panteion University in Athens. She is the co-editor of European Political Science. She is research fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP). She has acted as a public policy expert at the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of the Aegean, Greece. She is the co-author of Capitalising on Constraint: Bailout Politics in Eurozone Countries, with Moury, C., Cardoso, D. and Gago, A.

Yaprak Gürsoy is Professor of European Politics and Chair in Contemporary Turkish Studies at LSE. Prior to joining the European Institute, she was a Senior Lecturer and the Undergraduate Programme Director of Politics and International Relations at Aston University. She was also a Senior Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford University and an Associate Professor at Istanbul Bilgi University.

More about this event

The Hellenic Observatory (@HO_LSE) is internationally recognised as a leading research centre on contemporary Greece and Cyprus. In 2024, it became the Hellenic Observatory Centre for Research on Contemporary Greece and Cyprus, with the strategy to expand its research base both within LSE and beyond, developing world-leading research on Greece and Cyprus. The new Centre is committed to critically engaging with key issues concerning Greece and Cyprus, maintaining a non-partisan approach that fosters genuine debate among academics, policymakers, and the public. Its work includes high-quality primary research for academic audiences, as well as translating research for broader knowledge exchange and policy impact.

Hashtag for this event: #LSEEvents

Any questions?

If you have a query see our Events FAQ or take a look at the information below.

You can also contact us at events@lse.ac.uk.

From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.

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.