ABSTRACT
State welfare in Greece has always reflected different historic and social modes of control in the struggle for power by various elites, and in particular by party-political elites. Today in Greece, however, as well as in many European countries, the issue of immigration presents a major opportunity for the Greek government, welfare officials and the private sector to modernise welfare organisations and reshape their modes of control over people’s behaviour and resources. This is possible because immigration concerns the internal governance, mutuality, and boundaries of the community of citizens and affects the role that civil servants play in a flexible, globalised and entrepreneurially oriented society. In short, today, the issue of welfare and immigration concerns the management of global labour movements, flexible work patterns, social status, and crisis management in a deregulated economy and society. Immigration impacts on the formation of a new welfare ethos amongst civil servants, and the re-ordering of community.
