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European Union

March 3, 2026

Why gender equality is stalling in the Western Balkans

Klaudia Koxha Gender equality is a fundamental EU value and a condition for the accession of new members. Yet political parties in Western Balkan candidate countries rarely prioritise it. Klaudia Koxha explains why: parties respond when Brussels and voters agree, but go quiet when their positions clash, especially on LGBTQ+ rights Read more

February 27, 2026

EU complicity in the slow death of Indian democracy

Amit Singh The EU’s expanding engagement with India, notably the proposed 'mother of all deals' free trade agreement, signals a strategic partnership. Yet without clear human-rights benchmarks, this cooperation risks legitimising India’s democratic backsliding and weakening the EU’s own normative credibility, argues Amit Singh Read more

February 16, 2026

🧭 How economic governance makes or breaks EU enlargement

Visnja Vukov Comparing Central and Eastern Europe with the Western Balkans, Visnja Vukov argues that the EU’s governance of economic integration is a decisive lever of transformation. When the EU prioritises and credibly enforces these requirements, it constrains rent-seeking and weakens state capture. When the EU defers them, however, governments can entrench clientelist political–economic coalitions Read more

February 12, 2026

What The Economist magazine's coverage reveals about the European Council

Lucas Schramm Based on a 67-year arc of reporting by British magazine The Economist, Lucas Schramm analyses the European Council, a key institution of the European Union. He shows how that coverage explains why the European Council was created, how it evolved, what it does, and why its dominance is both useful and unsettling Read more

January 27, 2026

🔮 How left-wing populism replaces security threats: Jean Luc Mélenchon on Muslims

Ugo Gaudino Left-wing populists tend to be inclusionary and egalitarian towards ethnic minorities. But Ugo Gaudino points out that their defence of Muslim communities’ religious grievances often clashes with their secular agenda. While they may de-securitise Islam, they frame other issues and groups as urgent security threats, in line with the populist friend-versus-enemy conception of politics Read more

January 22, 2026

Has Chega changed the Portuguese parliament? What parliamentary votes reveal

Nelson Santos Nelson Santos, Sofia Serra-Silva, and Tiago Silva analysed voting patterns in Portugal’s parliament. They found that the legislative behaviour of populist radical-right Chega contradicts the party’s anti-system rhetoric. Meanwhile, conflict has reached unprecedented levels in what was historically a consensual parliament Read more

January 7, 2026

The social cost of the UK’s approach to transport policy

Will Edmonds The UK’s car- and London-centric transport policy undermines accessibility. It is pushing millions into effective poverty and entrenching transport emissions through forced car ownership. Will Edmonds argues that prioritising public transport, and equalising accessibility, would break Britain's reliance on the car Read more

December 24, 2025

Lessons from Sahel Niger for EU crisis management

Elise Ketelaars The rapid contraction of EU presence in the Sahel has sparked debate over Europe’s diminishing influence. But what did these missions get right? And what did they get wrong? EU capacity building in Sahel Niger, says Elise Ketelaars, offers important lessons for EU Common Security and Defence Policy design, and for broader security sector reform efforts Read more

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