“When in Rome”: Do Recent Greek Migrants Adopt New Norms on Corruption While Living Abroad?

Kostas Papangelopoulos, Ortrun Merkle

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademic

Abstract

It has been well established in the literature that diasporas interact with their homelands through sending social remittances, that is, norms, values, ideas, practices, knowledge and skills. The question of whether this holds true for views on corruption, however, has not been widely researched. This gap is particularly evident in the Greek context. This chapter adds to the study of Greek diaspora engagement by discussing how experiences abroad shape perceptions of corruption of recent Greek migrants in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and whether these new norms are remitted back to Greece. Based on 27 semi-structured interviews, our findings indicate that Greek migrants’ experiences in these countries influenced their previous perceptions towards the phenomenon, a shift which was however manifested in various forms. This lends support to our hypothesis that migrants’ exposure to countries with reported lower levels of corruption will change their relevant perceptions. Unfortunately, the study also finds that migrants’ attempts to remit their changed views back home were unsuccessful, showing that the large potential of the diaspora within the context of the Greek crisis to be a positive influence on Greek affairs has remained to a large extent untapped.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDiaspora Engagement in Times of Severe Economic Crisis
Subtitle of host publicationGreece and Beyond
EditorsOthon Anastasakis, Manolis Pratsinakis, Foteini Kalantzi, Antonis Kamaras
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Pages153-178
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-030-97443-5
ISBN (Print)978-3-030-97442-8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Jun 2022

Publication series

SeriesMigration, Diasporas and Citizenship

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