Austerity as the solution to the Eurozone crisis: Analysing the ordo-liberal pre-eminence over contending framings of the crisis

Abstract

Using a multiple stream framework and constructivist theories, this article provides an explanation for the adoption of austerity packages in the Eurozone. It argues that the European debt sovereign crisis that began in 2009 was mainly managed according to ordo-liberal principles. Yet other explanations for the crisis, accompanied by different solutions other than austerity, were promulgated. Just as the persuasive power of ordo-liberals upon national heads of state, along with the European Central Bank and the European Commission are the main reasons for the success of the ordo-liberal political entrepreneurs, likewise the longevity of the ordo-liberal framing can be explained through an examination of the interplay of politics and ideologies.