John Chin
On 1 January, Poland took over the rotating EU presidency from Hungary. John Chin and Ellie Kim outline the stakes for Europe, and the imperative of promoting a democratic U-turn in central Europe – and Poland itself – after years of democratic backsliding Read more
Vlad Surdea-Hernea
Populist rhetoric is no longer confined to the fringes — it’s shaping mainstream political strategies across Europe. Vlad Surdea-Hernea argues that leadership transitions function as hidden catalysts, driving moderate parties to embrace anti-elite and people-centric narratives. These shifts redefine party identities but also ripple through political systems, altering the tone and content of public debate Read more
Ana Țăranu
Hard-right ‘TikTok messiah’ Călin Georgescu was leading the Romanian presidential race when suspected Russian intervention prompted the Constitutional Court to annul the elections. Ana Țăranu analyses how the annulment feeds into the Romanian far right's polarising worldview Read more
Alexander Mesarovich
Alexander Mesarovich argues that informal cultures are an often-overlooked aspect of the enlargement process. While the formal changes are essential, socialising candidate state policymakers into the EU’s 'ways of being' is just as – if not more – important in producing deeper and more durable reform Read more
Priya Vijaykumar Poojary
In 2018, the distinguished scholar Amitav Acharya proposed a 'global international relations' to challenge Western dominance in the discipline. Since then, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, and Anatolian schools of IR have emerged. But Priya Vijaykumar Poojary warns that these non-Western schools risk merely replacing existing Western ethnocentricity with new forms of hegemonic discourse Read more
Michael Walsh
The Biden administration and 118th Congress failed to adequately reform and modernise the organisation of US diplomatic posts. Michael Walsh argues that Trump should urgently reassess the US Foreign Affairs Manual's conceptual model for organising such positions Read more
John Chin
Winter is coming to Chișinău. On 1 January, Moscow cut off all gas exports to the former Soviet state of Moldova. John Chin and Noel Overby put this Russian energy embargo in the context of ongoing Moldovan resistance to a protracted Russian sharp power campaign Read more
Jelena Džankić
The EU enlargement process successfully transformed Southern and Eastern European states into market democracies, but faltered in the Western Balkans. Jelena Džankić argues that amid today’s geopolitical challenges, prioritising the transformative mechanisms of EU enlargement is more critical than focusing solely on achieving full membership Read more
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