Dimitris Papadimitriou

Telemachy through Space and Time is a spatiotemporal fantasy fiction with new age characteristics, which refers to dreamlike journeys with a strange connection to reality. The lead character, a bourgeois, Telemachus Andronicus is overweight and works as a clerk in a bank. He learns that he has cancer and has six months left to live. He feels alienated and finds a way out in the complex world of dreams. He is experiencing incarnations in prehistoric (antediluvian) times, in ancient Greece, the fall of Constaninople, siege of Messologgi, the French Revolution, the Second World War two and he travels in other dimensions as well. Common thread of his travelling is on one hand a dark swamp which is an animate evil entity and on the other hand a black dressed man with unearthly mystic powers, who’s been persecuting him ever since. Soon the reality and subconscious are beginning to mingle in his sleep, putting his mental stability to the test. The only person who seems to believe in him is a strange, enigmatic and beautiful woman, who knows more than she lets out. In each of his incarnations he encounters different experiences which although seemingly unrelated, they become the key to unlock the ultimate truth at the end.

Telemachy through Space and Time

Kevin Featherstone

This book is concerned with a large question in one small, but highly problematic case: how can a prime minister establish control and coordination across his or her government? The Greek system of government sustains a 'paradox of power' at its very core. The Constitution provides the prime minister with extensive and often unchecked powers. Yet, the operational structures, processes and resources around the prime minister undermine their power to manage the government. Through a study of all main premierships between 1974 and 2009, Prime Ministers in Greece argues that the Greek prime minister has been 'an emperor without clothes'. The costs of this paradox included the inability to achieve key policy objectives under successive governments and a fragmented system of governance that provided the backdrop to Greece's economic meltdown in 2010. Building on an unprecedented range of interviews and archival material, Featherstone and Papadimitriou set out to explore how this paradox has been sustained. They conclude with the Greek system meeting its 'nemesis': the arrival of the close supervision of its government by the 'Troika' - the representatives of Greece's creditors. The debt crisis challenged taboos and forced a self-reflection. It remains unclear, however, whether either the external strategy or the domestic response is likely to be sufficient to make the Greek system of governance 'fit for purpose'.

The Paradox of Power

Prime Ministers in Greece

Kathryn Simpson

Michael Holmes

Lecturer in Politics Paul Tobin

This book examines how Ireland's relationship with the EU was affected by a succession of crises; the financial crisis, the migration crisis and the Brexit crisis, in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The various crises were not of equal significance on the island of Ireland. The financial crisis was a huge issue for the Republic but not Northern Ireland; Brexit had a major impact in both polities; the migration and populism issues were less controversial; and foreign policy challenges had a minimal impact. The book provides a summary of the main features of each of the main crises to be considered, from both the EU and the Irish perspective. It also explores a number of policy areas which are central to the understanding of each of the crises and the impact each crisis has had for Ireland. Chapters examine issues such as security, migration and taxation as well as protest politics, political parties, the media, public opinion and the economic impact of each of these crises on Ireland's relationship with the EU. The book is also the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive analysis on British-Irish relations in the context of Brexit assessing in particular the Withdrawal Agreement and Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, the devolution settlement and the 1998 Agreement as well as the European dimension to Northern Ireland's peace process. Leading academics from Ireland, the UK and the EU have combined to provide a thought-provoking book which will be invaluable to anyone interested in contemporary Irish politics and economics. Analysts of the EU, particularly those interested on the impact of the financial crisis, populism and Brexit on Ireland's relationship with the EU will also find it essential reading.

Dimitris Papadimitriou

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