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August 12, 2025

🧭 Powerhouse or talking shop? The European Parliament and EU enlargement

Magdalena Frennhoff Larsén Talking shop or powerhouse? The role of the European Parliament in foreign affairs is the subject of much debate. Magdalena Frennhoff Larsén explains how the Parliament has contributed to the current momentum around enlargement – an area where parliamentary influence is often overlooked – and how the European Commission is increasingly recognising, and valuing, the parliamentary dimension Read more
August 12, 2025

World population boom and stall: have we been here before? 

Miroslav Nemčok As population growth slows, Miroslav Nemčok and Rein Taagepera draw on a striking demographic stall 2,000 years ago that preceded political fragmentation and imperial collapse. What does it mean for today’s institutions — and can modern states withstand the pressures of a post-growth world?  Read more
August 11, 2025

Central bank independence in a changing geopolitical world

Lucia Quaglia Over recent decades, central banks have gained new powers. Nowadays, they are involved in areas as diverse as the greening of the economy and in digital finance. But is it a problem, wonder Lucia Quaglia and Amy Verdun, that despite their broader role, central banks remain independent from politicians? Read more
August 8, 2025

🌊 How a far-right party is shaping the 'new' old Romanian man

Paula Iacobescu In countries the world over, the patriotic man is the face of illiberal masculinity. Paula Iacobescu explores the illiberal male ideal in contemporary Romanian politics, through its figurehead, George Simion Read more
August 7, 2025

🦋 Democracy in academia: the not-so-wanted child

Max Steuer Of all domains of inquiry, the science of democracy is hit particularly heavily in non-democratic regimes. Max Steuer argues that non-democratic practices in academia complicate the issue. Here, he calls for a debate on more intra-academic democracy Read more
August 7, 2025

Polarisation begins in political discourse, and that’s what makes it dangerous for democracy

Alberto Ruiz-Méndez 'Polarisation' is everywhere in today’s political commentary, but rarely do we ask what causes it. Alberto Ruiz-Méndez argues that the real culprit lies in political discourses that force societies into binary moral camps, eroding democracy from within Read more
August 6, 2025

🧭 Military support to Ukraine is more fundamental than enlargement

Bjarn Eck EU enlargement alone won’t bring peace or security to Ukraine. Without matching accession promises with sustained military aid, writes Bjarn Eck, Europe risks prolonging the war — and exposing itself to greater danger Read more
August 5, 2025

Hard right, far right, or just wrong? Why terminology matters

Federico Taddei Linguistic precision matters, but the term 'hard right' isn’t the real threat to clarity. Federico Taddei argues that the real problem lies in how journalists and scholars misuse or oversimplify the categories political science has worked long and hard to define Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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