Introduction. Institutions-Values-Practices: Interpretation of the ESS key findings

Almost a decade after the first wave of the European Social Survey (ESS), this volume summarizes the trends recorded in the fourth round and, at the same time, highlights the continuity or the shifts that have taken place during this period. It also reflects upon social dynamics developed in Greece shortly before the multilevel crisis that followed shortly after, summing up the context in which new ideological, political and social processes are emerging. The data presented, in some cases display early signs of the crisis. In this sense, they compose a dataset that may be compared to the findings of the next rounds of ESS. The subjects discussed in the chapters of this volume follow three central axes: A) Politics and Institutions, B) Political subjects and individual practices, and C) Social inequalities.