Alistair Cole
Incumbent French President Macron has been re-elected for a second five-year term. This is not a simple success story, Alistair Cole argues. The election revealed disturbing trends in French democracy. Read more
Ben Seyd
Can policymakers expect people to comply with official health restrictions out of fear rather than because they trust the government? Ben Seyd suggests the answer is no. Governments still need trust to motivate citizens to comply with important collective rules. Read more
Richard Sakwa
Richard Sakwa argues that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the culmination of a long period of increasing tensions between Russia and the West. The portents were not only ignored by the West, but misunderstood, and security concerns became part of a broader cultural alienation Read more
John Keiger
Emmanuel Macron’s aloofness from electioneering, the collapse of party loyalties and seething public dissatisfaction have created a heady recipe for the French presidential election, says John Keiger. The incumbent could even lose – or end up severely damaged in terms of legitimacy for a second term Read more
Giovanni Capoccia
A second term of office for Emmanuel Macron remains the most probable outcome of the French Presidential election, but it is no longer a foregone conclusion. The race with Marine Le Pen now looks more competitive than ever, says Giovanni Capoccia. Read more
Xuechen Chen
Xuechen Chen and Xinchuchu Gao contend that the bilateral relationship between the EU and China must be examined in a broader context. Specifically, that of the EU's increasingly proactive strategy towards the wider Asian region Read more
Kinga Korányi
Viktor Orbán has just emerged victorious in the Hungarian national election of 3 April, despite his pro-Russian stance and friendship with Vladimir Putin, which had been expected to tarnish his party Fidesz’s popularity. Kinga Koranyi argues that Fidesz managed to turn its response to the war in Ukraine into a successful campaign tool Read more
Valentina Ausserladscheider
Germany's recently announced increase in defence spending reflects a broader European shift in response to the war in Ukraine. Using the concept of path dependency, Valentina Ausserladscheider believes that this shift breaks with the founding idea of peace in the European Union Read more