Abstract

The electoral rise of Golden Dawn poses a serious challenge to the Greek party-system in a time of crisis and deep transformation. This study aims to expose the main features of Golden Dawn and discuss the way the Greek polity reacted to the party's allegedly illegal activities. First, a brief overview of the Greek far right parties' evolution since the transition to constitutional democracy is provided, followed by a discussion about certain aspects of Golden Dawn's history as a party formation. The organizational structure and ideology of Golden Dawn will also be presented; and an account will be offered of the way the Greek legal system strives to tackle Golden Dawn as a criminal organization.