Lisa Herbig
Covid-19 border closures were intended to protect public health, but their symbolic effects reached far beyond controlling the virus. Lisa Herbig argues that temporary closures significantly weakened support for European unity and increased hostility toward immigrants. Policymakers should bear in mind that even brief border closures notably shape political attitudes Read more
Maurits Meijers
Populist rhetoric often pits a virtuous people against a corrupt elite. But when populist leaders invoke these definitions, do they always mean the same thing? Maurits Meijers, Robert A. Huber, and Andrej Zaslove explore the role of ideology in such definitions, shedding light on why populism remains a powerful political force Read more
Leila Hennaoui
Leila Hennaoui examines the historical legacies of nuclear colonialism, the leadership of the Global South in reimagining nuclear governance, and the transformative shift represented by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Read more
Marc Sanjaume-Calvet
Marc Sanjaume-Calvet challenges the widespread belief that independence referendums are definitive acts of self-determination. Drawing on cases from Western Sahara to Bougainville, he argues that these votes often serve merely symbolic or strategic functions. Here, he reveals the persistent gap between democratic aspirations and the real politics of statehood Read more
Vera Tika
Nicușor Dan’s narrow victory over far-right challenger George Simion on 18 May averted the election of Romania's first openly illiberal president. Yet Simion still managed to attract 46.4% of the vote. Vera Tika reveals how ideas born under the Iron Guard, refined under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s national-communism, and weaponised by TikTok, now dominate Romanian politics — and are testing Europe’s eastern frontier of democracy Read more
Mimi Mihăilescu
In Romania's 2025 presidential election, far-right political actors portrayed intellectuals as not just ineffective, but as a threat to Romanian values. Mimi Mihăilescu reveals how their rhetoric, which frames expertise as liability rather than an asset, is winning votes – and reshaping how an entire country determines what is true Read more
Miruna Butnaru-Troncotă
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine forced the EU to revive its enlargement agenda, but growing politicisation risks sidelining the Western Balkans yet again. Miruna Butnaru Troncotă argues that the EU's future credibility and cohesion hinge on treating Western Balkan integration just as urgently as Eastern enlargement Read more
Valentina Cassar
Valentina Cassar examines the motivations for US-Russian diplomacy and arms control in a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape. What role do these countries' nuclear postures play in sustaining their international primacy? China, certainly, will play a key part, while the outcomes will influence all states in the broader nuclear order Read more
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