Over the course of history, nations have tried a variety of ways to establish and maintain dominance over one another. We can see this when the European settlers decided to colonize in Africa, when Israel placed settlers in the Gaza Strip despite Palestine’s presence there, or even when China established the 9 dash line as a means to claim territory in the resource abundant South China Sea. However, there is a more discreet way to establish regional dominance over another nation that doesn't involve military action or territorial imposement. This geopolitical strategy is economic pressure and it is highly effective. For example, The Asan Institute for Policy Studies on March 20th of 2017 exemplifies how China has been using economic pressure on South Korea to discontinue the use of THAAD(Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System) by banning imports of Korean cultural products and cracking down on tourism to Korea, because they believe that THAAD poses a military threat to them. China’s Government is using this strategy because it recognizes the economic leverage it has over South Korea given that they are South Korea’s largest trading partner. While Asia is dealing with its own economic and hegemonic conflicts, no one is to say that Europe isn't dealing with those same issues as well. Currently, Greece has been facing a series of hardline economic issues most of which result directly from their ever growing debt. According to Trading Economics, just last year Greece’s debt amounted to 179% of the country’s GDP(Gross Domestic Product) and it is because of Greece’s failure to pay back its debt that other countries within Europe are becoming concerned, and for good reason too. The Guardian on February 3rd of this year explains that so far Greece has had 3 bailouts from the EU(European Union), the most recent bailout was an €86 Billion Euro rescue package back in July of 2015. Indeed one thing is for certain, Greece costs the EU and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) money. However, nothing in life(or geopolitics) is cheap nor free. These bailouts, as helpful as they may be to Greece’s economy come with the strict requirement of “austerity measures”. This is exactly where the divide between prominent countries of the EU such as Germany & France and organizations like the IMF come at a crossroad with Greece. Given that the UK has recently announced their decision to leave the EU due to both economic and political inadequacy and how Greece is deteriorating under the sanctions that have been imposed on them, it is crucial that we ask today’s question. What are the effects of austerity measures by Germany, France, and the IMF on Greece? In order to answer this question we must first discover what austerity measures are and their history. Next, we must analyze the warrants and benefits Germany, France, and the IMF gain from imposing austerity measures on Greece. Then we must examine the current outcomes of these austerity measures and possible alternatives. And finally, we will examine the direct and indirect effects of these austerity measures.
    

To say Greece was the first country to face austerity measures is a lie in its own right, austerity measures have been used for centuries by countries in efforts to promote a “contractionary fiscal policy” in which a country raises taxes and/or cuts spending. The goal of this kind of policy is to lower a country’s deficits and avoid a debt crisis, in short it is a typically harsh method used to stabilize and balance out a country’s economy. According to Cambridge University Press, austerity measures are when a country takes official government action to “reduce the amount of money it spends, or the amount of money that people in a country spend.” Europe in particular seems to be quite a fan of austerity measures as The Balance reports on June 1st of 2017; that Italy, Germany, Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain, and the U.K. all have a history of imposing austerity measures on their own economies. A prime example of how this was done is Former Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi. In 2011, Prime Minister Berlusconi had imposed strict austerity measures on the Italian economy by increasing healthcare fees, cutting subsidies to regional governments, cutting family tax benefits, and cutting pensions for the wealthy. It was no surprise that when the opportunity presented itself, the people of Italy voted him out of the office. The reason why austerity measures are largely unpopular and rarely ensure any positive economic change is because they slow economic growth, which in turn makes it even more difficult to raise the revenue needed to pay off sovereign debt. Initially, when sovereign debt approaches creditors become concerned that a country will default on its own debt, that typically occurs when the debt-to-GDP ratio gets above 90%. Creditors then start demanding higher interest rates to compensate for the higher risk. While this may restore confidence in the borrowing country’s budget, in the end the higher interest rates eventually cost the country more to refinance its debt. After the country realizes that it’s stuck in debt they then turn to other countries or the International Monetary Fund for new loans. However, these bailouts don't come cheap, new lenders will require austerity measures in exchange for these new loans. Lenders do this to prevent reckless continued spending and unsustainable debt. This is exactly Greece’s problem, because although Italy imposed austerity measures on itself, other foreign actors are now placing austerity measures on them. Currently, Greece’s lovely lenders (I.e. France, Germany, and the IMF) have imposed the following austerity measures on Greece; the reduction of 150,000 overall government employment, lower public employees wages by 17%, reduce pension benefits above €1,200 a month by 20-40%, raise property taxes by €3-16 per square mile, and the elimination of the heating fuel subsidy. In addition, Greece was also required to privatize €35 billion in state owned assets by 2014 and sell an additional €50 billion in assets by 2015. These austerity measures specifically targeted tax reform, by requiring Greece to reorganize its revenue collection agency to crack down on evaders in addition to the other austerity measures previously listed. Overall, austerity measures at first have good intentions, but they rarely work due to the fact that they trap countries in an endless debt cycle caused by a lack of economic growth.
    

When a foreign policy move from the Germany FoPo playbook fails repeatedly, one may ask why such a prominent and powerful nation such as Germany would continue to pursue the lost cause of Greece’s debt crisis with austerity measures? The answer is clear and crystal, Germany as well as France and the IMF are using austerity measures as economic and political leverage. The argument that austerity measures benefit Greece are easy to dismantle as The Balance states on June 1st that layoffs, tax hikes, and reduced benefits(direct austerity measures on Greece), only achieved slowed down economic growth which lead to Greece having a debt of 179% of its GDP in 2016. Whereas economic growth is a struggle for Greece, Germany a key leader in the EU, has now been faced with a crumbling EU threaten by both Brexit and the rise of President Trump’s populistic foreign policy agenda. The Foreign Affairs in their July/August 2017 edition elaborates on how the EU has been desperate for German leadership as countries begin to turn away and question the EU’s effectiveness. If Greece becomes too much of a problem, Germany knows that they as one of the largest economies in the EU, will share a large chunk of the economic responsibility. France, another large economy in the EU, fears this as well. The IMF has a variety of responsibilities and it would be in their best interest if Greece was merely rammed and the EU was locked in together. So in turn the two countries and IMF have come to the agreement of locking Greece in the cycle of austerity measures, that is until the cycle breaks and the whole system shatters. The Guardian adds to this on May 23rd 2017, where they report how finance chiefs from both countries and the IMF struggle to agree or at the very least come up with a concrete solution to the Greece austerity struggle. It's only a matter of time before the debt bomb goes off and an EU chain reaction erupts.
   

At the center of this issue is Greece and it is of utmost importance that we identify and state the direct and indirect effects of the current austerity measures being imposed by Germany, France, and the IMF. When looking at the direct effects of these austerity measures we can easily identify them as the cutback of social welfare and benefits. A perfect example is the limiting of worker benefits and the lowering of the minimum wage. This in turn decreases spending and increases work hours. However, while this may tighten the budget and produce confidence it indirectly curbs economic growth and hurts its citizens. Greeks are not big fans of austerity measures, as The Independent elaborates on July 5th in 2015, when Greece citizens were given the choice to vote for or against austerity measures on their country imposed by the EU, 61% voted no. After the final decision of no austerity measures was announced, Greeks cheered for the pushback against what they described as “economic terrorism”. Essentially, that is exactly what it is, austerity measures are direct fiscal policy changes that impose on a country’s legislative sovereignty. So while they may at times result in a balanced economy, most of the time they slow economic growth, divide a country’s people, and result in a deadly debt cycle. These are all direct and indirect effects of the austerity measures imposed on Greece by Germany, France, and the IMF. Some possible alternatives to austerity measures are for starters leaving the Euro Zone and going back to their original currency. While this alternative is relatively simple it has a massive caveat; Greece’s economic problems are so widespread and major that this would create global financial shocks bigger than the collapse the Lehman Brother’s did. Another alternative is a “Grexit”, where instead of leaving the Euro Zone, Greece would leave the currency union. According to the New York Times on June 17th 2017, Europe has put up safeguards to limit the “financial contagion”, in an effort to keep the problems from spreading to other countries. Greece, just a tiny part of the eurozone economy, could regain financial autonomy by leaving. And thus, the eurozone would actually be better off without a country that is constantly latching onto them for economic support. However, the only flaw in this alternative is that Greece, according to the Guardian on February 3rd, fundamentally does not want to leave the union as they believe it would ,Evan leaving Europe as a whole. While nothing is set in stone as of now, it is unlikely to see any fiscal change or breakaways from Greece anytime soon.
   

In conclusion, it is evident to see that each country involved in the Greece debt crisis has their own agenda and fiscal ideology to uphold to. Currently the IMF, Germany, and France are pressured and grasping at straws to keep the EU together whilst dealing with Greece’s dwindling economy. One prime solution to solve this issue, is to have a unified fiscal policy that compliments the EU’s unified monetary policy. That way the EU would have full legislative power to govern completely over Greece’s fiscal policy. However, in order for that to happen, countries would have to give up their fiscal sovereignty and this would essentially create a United States of Europe. On the other cornerstone, Greece is still struggling as the IMF, Germany, and France keep pushing for the status quo, rather than innovate ways to help Greece diversify its market or create more job incentives. It is because of both sides unwillingness to change and Germany, France, and the IMF’s desperate use of economic leverage in order to maintain the EU that we will likely still see the same negative effects repeat themselves...that is until they one day crash for good.

Works Cited
     Amadeo, Kimberly. "Where Bush and Obama Completely Disagree With Clinton." The Balance. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2017.
Amadeo, Kimberly. "Why Austerity Measures Usually Don't Work." The Balance. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2017.
"Definition of "austerity Measures" - English Dictionary." Austerity Measures Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2017.
"The European Debt Crisis Visualized." YouTube. YouTube, 09 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 July 2017.
"Explaining Greece’s Debt Crisis." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 June 2016. Web. 18 July 2017.
"Greece Government Debt to GDP  1980-2017 | Data | Chart | Calendar." Greece Government Debt to GDP | 1980-2017 | Data | Chart | Calendar. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2017.
Ian Johnston, Nathalie Savaricas, Leo Cendrowicz. "Greece Referendum: Greeks Say 'No' to Austerity and Plunge Europe into Crisis." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 05 July 2015. Web. 18 July 2017.
Rankin, Jennifer. "No Bailout Funds for Greece as Eurozone Finance Chiefs Fail to Agree Deal." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 23 May 2017. Web. 18 July 2017.
Smith, Helena. "Grexit? Greece Again on the Brink as Debt Crisis Threatens Break with EU." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 03 Feb. 2017. Web. 18 July 2017.