Victoria Portnaya
We used to believe that autocratic educational policies stifled free thought. However, as Russia's meritocratic policy supporting talented youth shows, state-created incentives can serve to spread 'dissident' ideas that differ from those presented in national exams. These ideas, writes Victoria Portnaya, may be adopted by a significant portion of schoolchildren preparing for intellectual competitions Read more
Roberto Baccarini
The Italian cabinet, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has approved a proposal to revise the Constitution, chiefly through introducing the direct election of the Prime Minister. However, writes Roberto Baccarini, the reform may in fact undermine Prime Ministerial authority, and would destabilise other existing institutional arrangements Read more
Bilge Yabancı
Does mainstream opposition always pursue a democratic and depolarising strategy to challenge incumbents' authoritarian populism? Bilge Yabancı argues that in Turkey, both the incumbent and opposition parties have exploited the refugee crisis for political gains at the expense of social cohesion and democratic values Read more
Jennifer Forestal
How should we understand recent transformations to the spaces of democratic action? Jennifer Forestal outlines the spatial characteristics required for democratic politics — and reminds us just how fragile those spaces are Read more
Camilla Reuterswärd
Javier Milei’s electoral victory ushered in another right-wing populist win in Latin America. The new president threatens to undo a major achievement for women’s rights —Argentina’s abortion legalisation. Yet Milei might not succeed. Camilla Reuterswärd and Cora Fernandez Anderson explain why the radical populist will lose the battle over abortion Read more
Iris B. Segers
The 2023 Dutch general election has given Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom a landslide victory. Iris Beau Segers argues that centre-right parties have contributed to the mainstreaming of Wilders’ far-right views and are now trapped in a dance over the formation of a new government Read more
Annika Lindholm
Do people support populism and nativism because they are simply unhappy with their lives? Annika Lindholm and Lauri Rapeli call for more overarching psychological approaches to understanding the appeal of right-wing populism. They suggest bringing subjective well-being into populism research Read more
Zheng Guo
Single people are seldom recognised as a political force in intersectional struggles. Zheng Guo argues that, around the world, single people are a rising body who face widespread discrimination. Supporting single people's political struggles offers lessons in resistance and the intersectional pursuit of democracy Read more
