Nikola Mikovic
Central Asia has traditionally been in Russia’s geopolitical orbit. However, argues Nikola Mikovic, the region has significant strategic importance, and a key role in facilitating trade between Europe and Asia. The European Union is therefore now seeking to strengthen economic, political, and security ties with Central Asian states Read more
Rory Costello
Party competition sometimes resembles an auction, where parties seek to ‘buy’ elections through spending promises. Rory Costello argues that this is particularly likely to occur when parties are ideologically indistinct. Parties that do not expect to be in government are also more likely to over-promise Read more
Karl Pike
A political legacy, either a politician’s or a project’s, can have significant side-effects for years to come, including for the political party that gave rise to the person or programme. In his new book, Getting Over New Labour, Karl Pike shows how the near-past affected Labour’s politicians after the New Labour period ended Read more
James F. Downes
James F. Downes argues that elections to the European Parliament will likely lead to record representation for populist far-right parties. Lack of unity and ideological divisions, however, will make it difficult for the far right to wield any real power Read more
Michal Grahn
Evidence shows that young people make productive legislators who work hard and get reelected. With elections to the European Parliament imminent, voters have a chance to significantly boost youth representation in European politics. Michal Grahn argues that youth representation matters because young people are growing increasingly disillusioned with democracy Read more
Lone Sorensen
Lone Sorensen argues we should pay close attention to political communication in the study of populism. Particularly important is how populist ideology and performance interact in the creation of meaning, how populists adapt their communications to various media, and how they talk about political communication as a democratic deficit Read more
Knowledge Mwonzora
The ANC, party of former President Nelson Mandela, has held office in South Africa since 1994. Now, it is preparing itself for a watershed election. Knowledge Mwonzora outlines the prospects for the ANC's ousting from government as a result of the challenge from former President Jacob Zuma Read more
Vladimir Bortun
Last month, a group of scholars submitted an open letter to ECPR's Executive Committee, calling upon it to condemn the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. ECPR declined. This, says Vladimir Bortun, was a missed opportunity. Here, he argues that the political science community should use the catastrophe in Gaza to open up debate about the mission of ECPR – and about the very purpose of political science Read more
