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September 3, 2025

Why opposition parties sometimes help governments pass laws

Rick van Well Opposition parties are expected to challenge the government, but they do not simply oppose for opposition's sake. Drawing on over 75 years of data, Rick van Well explains that when deciding how to behave in parliament, opposition parties make strategic trade-offs between winning votes, entering the government, and influencing policy Read more
September 2, 2025

Are European Parliament elections really ‘second-order elections’?

Ugur Tekiner European elections are traditionally seen as less significant than national elections. But Ugur Tekiner argues that the recent challenges facing the EU force us to rethink this classification. Recent European elections accurately reflect the national political mood in Member States, and reveal the growing polarisation around Europe Read more
September 1, 2025

How gender shapes EU-US parliamentary diplomacy

Lorenzo Santini For over 50 years, the European Parliament and the US Congress have steadily practiced transatlantic parliamentary diplomacy. In a second Trump era, what space remains for gender equality? Lorenzo Santini argues that informal and symbolic diplomacy helps keep women’s rights visible on the agenda Read more
August 29, 2025

🧭 When Europe means unity, not pluralism: rethinking conditionality in Ukraine

Lesley-Ann Daniels Lesley-Ann Daniels and Marc Sanjaume-Calvet explore a paradox at the heart of Ukraine’s path to EU membership: the strongest pro-European voices are often the least supportive of minority rights. Drawing on new survey data, they call for a more adaptive and politically sensitive enlargement strategy Read more
August 28, 2025

Middle East escalation reveals Israel’s shifting strategy 

Nadeem Ahmed Moonakal The security situation in the Middle East reflects the hard realities of power struggle and the implications of the quest for regional hegemony. Nadeem Ahmed Moonakal shows how Israel is exploiting instability to entrench dominance, while Iran’s projected restraint masks deep vulnerabilities. With the US’ ambiguous approach adding to tensions, the space for long-term stability is shrinking Read more
August 28, 2025

🎭 How social media can support transformative conversations

Friedel Marquardt Changing the way we think — and appreciating new perspectives — can be a complex and vulnerable process. Drawing from her research into social media as a space for sharing marginalised narratives, Friedel Marquardt presents the online 'grace space' to safely foster transformative conversations around new ideas Read more
August 27, 2025

Toward a 'not-so-grand' security strategy for European defence policy 

Amélie Jaques-Apke Are we nearing a new incarnation of the French vision of a Gaullist Europe? Focusing on strategic autonomy, nuclear deterrence, coalitions of the willing, threat perception, and defence capability, Amélie Jaques-Apke examines the strategic dilemmas, and conceptual and operational deficiencies, in European defence policy  Read more
August 27, 2025

🧭 How Hungary and Serbia expose the EU’s enlargement vulnerabilities

Rafaela Gonzalez Lucioni EU enlargement, without credible enforcement of democratic standards, threatens the Union’s integrity. Cases like Hungary and Serbia expose the dangers of performative reforms and weak accountability. Rafaela Gonzalez Lucioni argues that to remain a values-based project, the EU must reform internal mechanisms and adopt a phased, conditional approach to accession Read more

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THE EUROPEAN CONSORTIUM FOR POLITICAL RESEARCH
Advancing Political Science
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