Ινστιτούτο Νίκος Πουλαντζάς

Institute

Institute

Nicos Poulantzas: Biography and Intellectual Legacy

Board of Directors

Scientific Advisory Council

General Information

The Nikos Poulantzas Institute (NPI) was founded in 1997 at the initiative of the Synaspismos party, today SYRIZA, with which it is politically affiliated. It is a political, theoretical and research institute, with the legal form of a Civil Non-Profit Company, administrated  by the general assembly of its partners and its Board of Directors, which consists of academics, politicians and activists of the Left.

The Institute aims to strengthen the values ​​of the Left, systematically cultivating reflection on contemporary social, ecological, political and cultural issues and exploring emerging changes in society. It seeks to contribute to scientific research, theoretical exploration and ideological reflection, as well as to the political program of the radical and ecological Left and its cadres.

Indicative activities

  • Organization of research programs, seminars, conferences, lectures, workshops, festivals and other events covering a wide range of topics.
  • Production, publication, issue and distribution of books, brochures and audiovisual material on the thematic activities of the Institute and on other issues of broader theoretical and political interest or applied policy.
  • Political education and training seminars for SYRIZA cadres, SYRIZA youth, MPs, elected officials in local government, trade unionists, etc.

In addition to the voluntary contribution of its members, the work of the INP is mainly carried out by its staff, either permanent or working on specific projects, who specialize in different fields of political and social sciences, economics, philosophy, history, art, etc.

Flagship initiatives

Annual Lecture

Since 2007, the INP has organized an annual lecture around the month of December, which is dedicated to the memory of Nikos Poulantzas. Specifically, the Annual Lecture in Memory of Nikos Poulantzas was inaugurated in December 2007 and has been held consistently since then, with distinguished intellectuals from different countries invited, on a topic of their choice. The Lecture does not focus exclusively on the work of Nikos Poulantzas, but on the multitude of topics and theoretical approaches that it covers, such as Marxism, socialism and social emancipation, global capitalism, the role of the state, social classes, political economy, political ecology, social movements, etc. The subject matter of the Lecture thus covers topics that are not only of theoretical interest but also of particular utility in political practice.

The Annual Lecture has successively hosted: Bob Jessop, Leo Panitch, Judith Butler, Michael Lebowitz, Erik Olin Wright, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Frank Deppe, Enzo Traverso, Wendy Brown, Nancy Fraser, Angela Davis, Michael Löwy, Klaus Dörre, Manuel Castells, Konstantinos Tsoukalas and Boaventura de Sousa Santos.ιάλεξη

Original research and other papers and analyses

Overall, the activity of the INP is organized around six main themes:

  • Global Affairs, Europe & the Left/ The World, Europe and the Left
  • Economy & the Left
  • Society & Social Movements
  • Culture, Ideology & the Left
  • Environment & Climate Politics
  • Democracy, Institutions & the Left

The NPI conducts and publishes primary research, policy papers and other analyses on a wide range of topics, within and beyond the above themes/pillars. Some of the key initiatives in this area are the annual survey Youth. Habits, perceptions & political behavior, published every year around March since 2020, and the annual survey Working conditions in Greece. Experiences and Views on the Labor Market, published annually around November also since 2020. The same category includes the Energy research program, which also includes primary research on energy poverty in Greece as well as a series of policy papers on the climate crisis, renewable energy sources and energy communities.

National, European and international collaborations

NPI is a founding member of Transform! Europe Network (www.transform-network.org), the European think-tank politically affiliated with the Party of the European Left. It is also a member of ENoP (European Network of Political Foundations) and a long-standing collaborator of the Euromemo Group of European Economists for an Alternative Economic Policy in Europe. It also has a wide variety of bilateral or multilateral partnerships. in Greece, Europe and around the world with political and research institutions, NGOs, universities, media, etc.

E-mail: info@poulantzas.gr

Website: poulantzas.gr

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