Despina Alexiadou
Using a test case of social welfare policy, Despina Alexiadou argues that if we want to understand the policy choices of different governments, we should start by analysing the social class composition of its ministers Read more
Ryusaku Yamada
Based on English language terms, Jean-Paul Gagnon’s democracy data mountain faces considerable problems in translating non-English words which have no exact equivalents. Ryusaku Yamada uses the example of ‘mass’ (as in ‘mass democracy’), and a Japanese word, ‘taishū’, to reveal the potential comprehension gap in any translation exercise Read more
Filip Ilkowski
Relations between Poland and the EU have reached a nadir with the recent clash between the Polish Constitutional Court and the European Union Court of Justice. This conflict, argues Filip Ilkowski, reflects much deeper divisions connected to EU geopolitics and ideological clashes in Polish society Read more
Giovanni Capoccia
Giovanni Capoccia argues that the 2022 French Presidential elections could constitute a greater threat to the EU than any current challenge. Although unlikely at present, a Eurosceptic French President would precipitate the greatest crisis in the EU’s history – and there is still much to play for Read more
Norma Osterberg-Kaufmann
To strengthen democracy, we need new, innovative thinking, write Norma Osterberg-Kaufmann, Toralf Stark and Christoph Mohamad-Klotzbach. They propose to identify the core norms underlying a universally valid concept of democracy, opening up dialogue between empirical and theoretical approaches, and linking inductive and deductive methods Read more
Mahmoud Javadi
Relations between Iran and Europe are in a pretty poor state. But Mahmoud Javadi argues that there are avenues for improvement through identification of 'shared interests' – and the EU can, and should, play its part Read more
Tim Bale
The UK may be in the limelight at COP26, with the government having set highly ambitious targets for net zero by 2050. But, Tim Bale argues, evidence suggests that parts of the British electorate – largely Tory supporters – may be sceptical about the merits of the policy Read more
