The Greek Referendum Vote of 2015 as a Paradoxical Communicative Practice: A Narrative, Future-Making Approach Anneke Sools University of Twente Sofia Triliva University of Crete Eva Fragkiadaki Hellelenic American University Manolis Tzanakis University of Crete Theofilos Gkinopoulos University of Surrey 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. KEY WORDS: pragmatics, double bind, voting, Greece, future narrative, discursive practice In psychology, there is renewed interest in the constructive role of the future as guide for current thought and action (Seligman, Railton, & Baumeister, 2013; Sools & Mooren, 2012; Sools, Triliva, & Filippas, 2017; Sools, Tromp, & Mooren, 2015). Although future imagination has been central to earlier research on possible selves, for example (Cinnirella, 1998; Markus & Nurius, 1986), the 1 0162-895X V C 2018 International Society of Political Psychology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, and PO Box 378 Carlton South, 3053 Victoria, Australia Political Psychology, Vol. xx, No. xx, 2018 doi: 10.1111/pops.12474