http://illinois.edu/calendar/list/597 This is the Performaces calendar for the Urbana-Champaign campus. http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/597/28567208 Public Lecture http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/597/28567208 Thu, 14 Nov 2013 16:00:00 CST Abstract: Why do Greek governments fail? The question, of course, is somewhat unfair: governments in Athens have achieved great national projects in key historical periods. But, governance in Greece suffers from seemingly endemic organizational problems - of contrasts between rigid rules, yet weak control and coordination; of clientelism, but poor commitment; of generous staffing, but low-skills and resources. Every student of the Greek Constitution learns of the near-unrestrained powers of the Prime Minister. And, if effective management of the government is to occur, then it must stem from the Prime Minister. But here I will argue that successive prime ministers have been 'Emperors without clothes'. The internal dysfunctionalities of government emanate from this weakness at the core. As a result, expectations for governments to deliver have been thwarted from major weaknesses of capability, quite aside from any doubts of political will. The constraints are those of a cultural mind-set as to the ways of conducting politics. The recent debt crisis now exposes these weaknesses and prompts a new debate on establishing more effective governance. This is likely to be crucial for Greece's role in Europe.