Piotr Marczyński
Neither Poland's government nor its opposition has a straightforward path toward an electoral majority. Meanwhile, personal conflict between Jarosław Kaczyński and Donald Tusk dominates the news cycle. Piotr Marczyński argues this configuration reflects the shallow roots of the Polish party system, with axes of polarisation gradually realigning along ideological lines Read more
Markus Thiel
The inclusion of social minorities is contingent on civic activism and government policies that become more polarised as well as volatile in times of crises. Markus Thiel, Ernesto Fiocchetto and Jeffrey Maslanik delve into the state of inclusion policies throughout Europe Read more
Diogo Vieira Ferreira
Space technology sees increased use in warfare. This has generated great concern for the European Union’s capacity to maintain a stable space policy. Diogo Vieira Ferreira argues that the effective development of European space policy requires the participation and input of the so-called ‘Outermost Regions’ as strategic actors Read more
Jasmin Sarah König
We know that there is an inherent tension between populism and liberal democracy. So how does this translate into law when populists are in power? Jasmin Sarah König and Tilko Swalve argue that constitutional changes by populist governments can have ambiguous implications for democratic quality Read more
Lukas Rudolph
The war in Ukraine has focussed attention on public attitudes to arms exports. New research by Lukas Rudolph, Markus Freitag, and Paul Thurner finds that in France and Germany, while a small minority is in principled opposition, a large majority makes nuanced trade-offs when articulating their positions on the issue of arms exports Read more
Ana Mar Fernández PasarÃn
Ana Mar Fernández PasarÃn and Asbel Bohigues continue the Loop's coverage of Spain's 23 July general election, analysing the results and the (im)possible parliamentary alliances. They highlight that the left has a chance to continue in government but that a repetition of the election is not implausible Read more
Mattia Bottino
Participatory governance in megaprojects is intended to involve citizens in the decision-making processes and tackle their disaffection towards institutions. Mattia Bottino analyses the ‘proximity strategy’ used to realise the Brenner Basistunnel between Italy and Austria and contrasts it with the NO TAV experience in Italy’s Susa Valley Read more
Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa
Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa & James F. Downes argue that the recent 2023 Spanish general election is likely to lead to further volatility and fragmentation in Spain on both the left and right of the political spectrum. In turn, this will make governing in Spain a very difficult task ahead in the future Read more
