On Social Cohesion in Greece

This article we will focus on social cohesion in modern Greek society by presenting aspects of social life where there is either evidence of social cohesion or evidence to the contrary. The study of social cohesion is not an easy task owing to the fact that the concept has become a battleground of opposing forces engendering heated debates between writers who have attempted, over the last two decades, to give an explicit and comprehensive definition of the concept.1 Some argue that this concept has not been conceptually processed in an adequate way. Consequently, it is characterized by uncertainty and has become construed in numerous ways to suit a variety of situations/agendas. As a result, this term has been adapted to the requirements and the limitations of public action and, for this reason, has been widely disseminated.2 Some others claim that ‘the concept of social cohesion is not a well-defined concept and, as such, does not (and cannot) lead to a clear sociopolitical project. The vagueness of the concept is not due to poor or contradictory academic work, but to the fact that its content is the subject of multiple ‘rapport de forces’ between social groups and political organizations that are trying to impose their own project of social cohesion’.