Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance was a celebration of Latin American culture and a rebuke of US imperial power. Yet, argue Agnese Pacciardi and Priscyll Anctil Avoine, the excitement it sparked risks obscuring the corporate, extractive structures that made the show possible, and profitable
Independent local lists are often seen as a sign of democratic community organisation. More than that, write Fred Paxton and Eliška Drápalová, their rise may actually limit the success of populist parties among voters disenchanted with mainstream politics
A Jordan Bardella presidency would represent the most significant reconfiguration of executive power since the Fifth Republic’s founding. Even without a radical policy rupture, the symbolic impact on democratic norms and institutional trust would be profound, including significant risks for the EU, argues John Ryan
Nelson Santos, Sofia Serra-Silva, and Tiago Silva analysed voting patterns in Portugal’s parliament. They found that the legislative behaviour of populist radical-right Chega contradicts the party’s anti-system rhetoric. Meanwhile, conflict has reached unprecedented levels in what was historically a consensual parliament
The US capture and extraction of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on 3 January 2026 was an act without precedent. But Ruairidh Brown argues that recent events in Caracas were only the second Act in an unfolding post-exceptionalist world order
Politicians need to have a good understanding of which issues matters most to voters. Chris Butler reports from a recent survey of politicians that reveals that while they have a reasonable understanding of which issues matter, there are also common reasons why they make mistakes that have consequences for representation
Trump’s 2025 tariff shock marks a sharp turn toward a near-isolationist US trade policy. Yet given that US protectionism is expected to ease, Andreas Dür and Alessia Invernizzi argue that the international trading system is likely to weather the storm
In his introductory piece for this series, Luca Verzichelli asked whether we can re-establish a connection between political institutions and citizens. Dario Castiglione suggests we can. But first, we must rethink democratic representation as a process of mutual engagement; then re-imagine its political practices and institutions
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