Domenico Valenza
The scientific credibility of Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine has been seriously challenged. So why is Russia risking mass vaccination? Domenico Valenza argues that an international, biopolitical power-play presents Russia as the actor that can bring order to a disordered world Read more
Akudo McGee
Enraged by Poland’s new abortion law, thousands of protestors filled the streets in late October. Many protests were organised by liberal civil society organisations, yet, argues Akudo McGee, it is precisely through civil society that the government has been able to exert its anti-liberal agenda Read more
Renata Mieńkowska-Norkiene
Renata Mieńkowska-Norkiene considers the current mass protests in Poland against the near-total ban on abortion as the manifestation of a nascent cultural (r)evolution. But it doesn't necessarily signal that a political revolution is in the offing – at least not yet Read more
Rachel M. Gisselquist
States with fragile state health systems have been commended for effective responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. But if we take into account factors such as favourable climate and the age structure of the population, the Covid-19 impact is, in fact, greater on states with weak institutions, explain Rachel M. Gisselquist and Andrea Vaccaro Read more
Jay Krehbiel
Changing German attitudes to the coronavirus, as measured in original survey data, are the key to understanding how long the country’s success in tackling the pandemic may last, writes Jay N. Krehbiel, Amanda Driscoll, Michael J. Nelson and Taylor Kinsley Chewning Read more
Kannen Ramsamy
Covid-19 is a crisis caused by scientific and evidential uncertainty. Kannen Ramsamy argues that adopting the so-called ‘precautionary principle’ in developing policy responses is crucial. Countries that have not done so, such as the US and Sweden, are now paying a heavy price Read more
Marianne Riddervold
Contrary to popular belief, Covid-19 has not pushed the EU to the verge of an existential crisis. Rather, the pandemic has prompted common health and economic policies which have led to greater integration, write Marianne Riddervold, Jarle Trondal, and Akasemi Newsome Read more
