Political science

Whatever the final tally of managing the climate threat, what is certain is that the people on the front lines - pilots, firefighters, security forces, volunteers - are fighting with self-sacrifice.

The state must ensure that they are not only compensated according to their contribution, but also that they are supported by the best experts in the country.

Robert Keohane was one of the first to challenge the theory of "hegemonic stability," where power is no longer the monopoly of a hegemonic country, but is diffused through the interdependence of states. The professor emeritus at Princeton University talks to Kathimerini and explains how the war in Ukraine has undermined the power of international institutions.

A week before Greece's May 21 general election, communications consultant Stavros Kontaxis carried out an experiment. Using ChatGPT he designed a model for a poll of polls, inputting all the available survey results to see what kind of conclusion it would yield.

The national election on May 21 showed that Greek public opinion has begun to vote based on political parties' programs and positions. Not based on slogans and generalities.

The people now act as "consumers," not blind followers. The parties in power will have to adapt to this new reality if they want to continue to be seen as contenders for power.

No matter what one believes about the usefulness or the possible exploitation of public opinion polls, we cannot overlook the fact that it is entirely unhealthy for them to be at the epicenter of every political race, every time.

Pollsters claim they did detect the trends that led to New Democracy's triumph over SYRIZA in Sunday's elections, but avoided publishing the results because of the "severe criticism" they were subjected to by main opposition SYRIZA.

With a week to go before national elections, the focus of party staffs is turning to the undecided voters whose number, according to the latest opinion polls, hovers around the not insubstantial 12 percent mark.

If you're not a supporter of SYRIZA and are hoping for some surprises in the upcoming elections, please raise your hand high so we can all see it. For the past eight years, opinion polls have consistently shown Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the conservative prime minister, in the lead.

In international relations, the term "power" is categorized in three forms: hard, soft and smart. Smart power refers mainly to the use of soft means of influence, such as diplomacy, combined with the exercise of hard, military power.

Despite the daily rise in tension and polarization, we need to be optimistic. But can we hope that after the coming elections things will not be as bad as today's politics predict? Can we look forward not to instability and uncertainty but towards a newfound spirit of consensus, so that the country can make progress?