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
Andreas Goldberg
Voters often choose parties that share similar positions to them on certain issues. Andreas Goldberg and Jonas Lefevere argue that this behaviour is more prevalent among voters with more extreme issue positions. So, better understanding the role of policy issues in electoral competition requires considering voters’ positional extremity Read more
Jaap Hoeksma
May 2025 marks 75 years since the Schuman Declaration that paved the way for the European Union. But while the Declaration succeeded in establishing the first democratic union of democratic states, it is now failing to protect its democracies. Jaap Hoeksma considers how we can stop Viktor Orbán and his cronies from undermining the Union Read more
Ananya Sharma
In India, the bulldozer has emerged as an instrument of the strong state and a symbol of sovereign retribution. Bulldozer demolitions, argues Ananya Sharma, mark a shift towards punitive populism in which majoritarian desires supplant the rule of law Read more
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