The path of modernization: PASOK and European integration
In 1974, the year in which PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) was founded, Greece faced one of those ‘critical situations’, described by Emile Durkheim, during which exceptional events strengthen collective identities and consolidate the feeling of belonging to a community. The fall of the dictatorship, the humiliation of Greece in Cyprus, and the referendum which brought about the end of the monarchy were the major events in 1974. These events mobilized large segments of the population, signicantly increased interest in politics, raised the credibility of political parties, and legitimized expectations of innovative political reforms. Everything appeared possible in 1974. Throughout the 1970s and culminating in 1981, the year of the great electoral triumph of the Greek socialists (48.07 per cent in contrast to 25.33 per cent in 1977 and only 13.58 per cent in 1974), PASOK had been imposed as a force which—more than any other party of the Left or the Right—represented the widespread conviction that extraordinary political engineering was on the agenda. In the 1970s and the early 1980s, PASOK proved to be extremely successful in combining anti-capitalist discourse with the historically articulated symbols of the political Centre. Andreas Papandreou, the leader and founder of PASOK, personied this combination in an exemplary fashion, unifying his centrist origin with Marxist analysis. Indeed, the strategic position occupied by the Greek socialists in the system of party competition was unique and remarkable. In the rst period (1974–1981), PASOK succeeded in functioning as the main vehicle of political protest within the party system, touching at times, in its rhetoric, the limits of an anti-systemic party. It succeeded at the same time in gradually dominating the electoral space of the historic Centre and establishing itself, particularly after the elections of 1977, as a party à vocation majoritaire. During this period, PASOK was—simultaneously!—a continuation of the historical Centre and a force more innovative and dynamic than the communist Left. The strategy of PASOK in the period 1974–1985 could be compared to that of François Mitterrand in the period 1973–1984. Both strategies should be taught in the textbooks of political science as two different paradigms which
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement
Three families of parties structured the Greek party system of the post-civilwar period (1949–67): the right, an ideologically ultra-conservative force; the centre, the 'soft structure' of the system with a rather centre-right ideological orientation; and the third pole, the communist left, which emerged in a weakened state due to its defeat in the civil war. The distinctive trait of the politics of this period was the absence of a socialist or social-democratic pole.The left was identified to such a degree with the communist tradition that in the everyday political vocabulary the term 'left' clearly designated the communist left. The founding, therefore, of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in 1974 and its dynamic presence on the Greek political scene constituted a significant change in the continuity of the Greek political arena. Modern centre for some (continuation of the old Centre Union), a prototype of a populist party for others, an idiosyncratic social democracy in Greek colours for yet others, PASOK was all of these in turn and simultaneously. Atthe same time it was more than their sum total: PASOK is in fact a party of many faces.
Integrating Al with NiO nano honeycomb to realize an energetic material on silicon substrate
Nano energetic materials offer improved performance in energy release, ignition, and mechanical properties compared to their bulk or micro counterparts. In this study, the authors propose an approach to synthesize an Al/NiO based nano energetic material which is fully compatible with a microsystem. A two-dimensional NiO nano honeycomb is first realized by thermal oxidation of a Ni thin film deposited onto a silicon substrate by thermal evaporation. Then the NiO nano honeycomb is integrated with an Al that is deposited by thermal evaporation to realize an Al/NiO based nano energetic material. This approach has several advantages over previous investigations, such as lower ignition temperature, enhanced interfacial contact area, reduced impurities and Al oxidation, tailored dimensions, and easier integration into a microsystem to realize functional devices. The synthesized Al/NiO based nano energetic material is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry.