ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2015.1124124 Violence against migrants in Greece: beyond the Golden Dawn Lena Karamanidou Department of Sociology, City University London, UK Downloaded by [82.28.181.28] at 02:36 18 February 2016 ABSTRACT Violence perpetrated against migrants by Golden Dawn was rarely investigated or prosecuted by Greek authorities and was discursively constructed as exceptional, contrary to the norms of Greek democracy and committed by marginalized individuals and groups. The article argues that state responses have been shaped by racialized discourses and policies on migration and racism. Anti-migrant violence has been legitimated through three interlinked discursive strategies: a narrative of ‘isolated events’; the denial of its racialized nature; and the rationalization of both state and non-state anti-migrant violence as a regrettable yet understandable defensive reaction to the threats posed by migration. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 17 March 2014; Accepted 2 November 2015 KEYWORDS Migration; violence; racism; discourse; Greece 1. Introduction Violence against migrants increased during the Greek austerity crisis, in parallel with the political rise of the extreme right party Golden Dawn (Chrysi Avgi) (Dalakoglou 2013; Human Rights Watch (HRW) 2012; Ombudsman 2013). Physical assaults, attacks against migrant properties and verbal aggression were directed at predominantly Muslim, non-white migrants of Asian, Middle Eastern and African origin (HRW 2012; Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN) 2013, 2014). While incidents of violence against migrants in socioeconomically deprived areas of Athens occurred initially in the context of residents’ urban movements (Kandylis and Kavoulakos 2011), there is little doubt that Golden Dawn members and supporters were responsible for the majority of attacks between 2011 and 2013, often described as racially motivated by their victims (Amnesty International (AI) 2012; Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) 2013; RVRN 2013). Bucking the European trend of increasingly legislating and policing racist violence (Bleich 2007) Greek authorities showed reluctance to Department CONTACT Lena Karamanidou © 2016 Taylor & Francis lena.karamanidou@gcu.ac.uk