79 OPINION UNEVEN DEVELOPMENT: LESSONS FROM THE ONGOING GREEK TRAGEDY Giorgos Velegrakis Department of Geography, Harokopio University, Athens* hanos Andritsos Department of Geography, Harokopio University, Athens Dimitris Poulios School of Rural and Surveying Engineering, National Technical University of Athens *Research for this paper beneited from the People Program (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program; under REA agreement Nº 289374-”ENTITLE”. Introduction In January 2015, SYRIZA, a Radical Left coalition in Greece, took power promising a sustainable plan for managing the debt crisis and overcoming austerity. SYRIZA said it would give voice to Greek citizens who “can and must decide their future”, maintaining that despite declarations by European Union oicials, and their allies in Greece, “there is an alternative”. SYRIZA’s victory had the potential not only to reverse policies of austerity, mass unemployment and cuts in welfare, but also challenge the ideology of TINA, which stands for the well-known slogan “here Is No Alternative”. his slogan, coined by Margaret hatcher in the 80s, celebrates the dominance of neoliberal capitalism. SYRIZA was determined to end TINA and emphatically renegotiate Greece’s position in the EU. Eight months later, Greeks are confronted with profound changes in the political, economic and social landscape. What would usually take years to unfold in other countries is happening in Greece extremely quickly. On July 5 th , 62% of the Greek citizenry, comprised largely of the young, low-income and working classes, voted against a bailout agreement proposed by creditors (European Commission, European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund) that continued and aggravated the austerity measures in place over the last ive years. he “No” vote, an active resistance, ignored EU claims that without “austerity” Greece would go bankrupt, a fate