Citizenship is a contested and multifaceted concept. Yet despite their differences, all German citizens see citizenship as something more than just a legal status. Franziska Maier finds that common to all German citizens is a desire for connectivity
Zeynep Mentesoglu Tardivo analyses the role played by nominally democratic political institutions in authoritarian regimes. She argues that rulers design such institutions to consolidate their power base, even at the cost of economic and political development
How can we capture the many meanings of democracy? We need to critically reflect on who produces knowledge about democracy, argues Hans Asenbaum. People outside academia must play a central role in democratic theorising
'We don’t do politics!' is a common refrain from international bureaucrats, governmental delegates and civil society representatives engaged in multilateral negotiations. Marieke Louis and Lucile Maertens take these apolitical claims seriously. In doing so, they unveil the politics of depoliticisation in international organisations
The CDU is facing its first post-Merkel electoral campaign, and the SPD is struggling to gain more than a 15% vote share. The Greens, meanwhile, are the second largest party in Germany. The impact of their results on the new German government may be the Eurozone’s most important political development of 2021. Gabriele Beretta argues that this could also have dramatic macroeconomic consequences for the Euro Area
Teaching democracy is hard work, precisely because we are living in a time when democracy is in crisis. So what should we teach, and how? Kei Nishiyama suggests that a grassroots, bottom-up approach involving teachers and learners alike will help us gain ownership of democracy – and fall back in love with it
Following the stalemate produced by April's elections, Bulgaria has just gone to the polls for the second time this year. Ekaterina Rashkova-Gerbrands argues that these elections have resolved nothing, leaving Bulgaria in a dilemma
Dragomir Stoyanov analyses the outcome of recent Bulgarian elections, which, just like the April elections a few months ago, have failed to resolve the power struggle between parties of the establishment and new protest parties. The prospect now looms for combined presidential and parliamentary elections in autumn
The European Commission is losing cases related to state aid taxation in the European General Court. If the Commission continues to suffer defeat against multinationals like Amazon, Apple and Starbucks, this could undermine the authority of its decisions on state aid, argues Elena Escalante Block
Safe and legal pathways to protection in Europe are scarce. Officially, states should admit only ‘the most vulnerable’ refugees. Yet, writes Natalie Welfens, humanitarian considerations are increasingly bound up with concerns about refugees' social and cultural fit with the admission state
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