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The Greek Referendum Vote of 2015 as a Paradoxical Communicative Practice: A Narrative, Future-Making Approach

Sools, Anneke; Triliva, Sofia; Fragkiadaki, Eva; Tzanakis, Manolis; Gkinopoulos, Theofilos

Authors

Anneke Sools

Sofia Triliva

Eva Fragkiadaki Eva.Fragkiadaki@uwe.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Counselling Psychology

Manolis Tzanakis

Theofilos Gkinopoulos



Contributors

Abstract

© 2018 International Society of Political Psychology This article adopts a pragmatic-communicative approach, derived from Gregory Bateson's cybernetic theory, to the Greek Referendum Vote of 2015. Applying this approach, we interpret the Referendum as a double-bind situation. Our research question is twofold: (1) How do potential Greek voters discursively construct the Referendum? (2) How do they respond to the communicative situation posed? A total of 124 written narratives, “Letters from the Future,” written by 99 participants, were collected during the days prior to the vote. Their letters focused on a desired future situation after a YES or a NO vote outcome. Qualitative analysis showed how the letters were used to appropriate the Referendum query in a unique and deeply personalized manner. Moreover, we identified four types of responses to the ambivalent query: confirmation, rejection, disconfirmation, and meta-communication. These responses are indicative of the psychological and emotional burden posed by the query and of ways people responded to the query. In conclusion, we reflect on the importance of recognizing the psychological dimension of the vote, the role of narratives from the future for personal and social transformation, and the wider relevance of the proposed future-making, pragmatic approach to other Referendum situations.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 30, 2017
Online Publication Date Mar 12, 2018
Publication Date Oct 1, 2018
Deposit Date Sep 12, 2019
Journal Political Psychology
Print ISSN 0162-895X
Electronic ISSN 1467-9221
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 39
Issue 5
Pages 1141-1156
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12474
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/2755653
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12474