Populist governance poses a profound threat to universities, undermining the autonomy essential to knowledge production. Jeremy Ko and James F. Downes reveal how populist leaders invoking 'the people' against elites consistently reduce academic freedom – and right-wing variants accelerate the decline most sharply
In a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, apple-sized metallic lumps on the seabed are gaining international attention. Thiago Thierry examines how these lumps could reshape our approach to energy transition, and how the legal framework for deep-sea mining may be putting the marine environment at risk
When the US repeatedly bluffs and backs down, it no longer looks like strategy and starts to look like a pattern. Fubu Ngubu argues that Europe has begun to recognise this pattern of retreat, and is adjusting accordingly The real question in relation to US international leadership is no longer whether it is consistent, but what happens when others stop believing that it is. This […]
The crushing defeat of Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz in Hungary’s 2026 elections gives the EU a rare opportunity to reform its enlargement policy. Iveri Kekenadze Gustafsson argues that this moment can accelerate candidates’ path to membership and prevent single states from derailing the process for domestic or bilateral political gain
Philipp Lutscher, Jonas Bergan Dræge, Carl Henrik Knutsen and Karsten Donnay draw on three survey experiments across Venezuela, Turkey and the United States to show that visual strongman propaganda can deter opposition movements and mobilise supporters. Its effectiveness, however, depends on regime type and political context
Maike Bernhard-Rump argues that citizens’ trust in elections is shaped less by actual risks than by how they imagine them. Drawing on evidence from Germany and Austria, she shows why perceptions of voting security — not digital threats — play a decisive role in shaping electoral confidence
For decades, European democracies have celebrated rising gender equality in parliaments, cabinets, and party leadership. These gains matter. But if we look only at elite politics, argue Catherine Bolzendahl and Hilde Coffé, we miss a quieter, equally consequential story: how ordinary women and men take part in democratic life
Maya Ikene argues that the Iran war is not just disrupting gas markets, but redrawing Europe's energy alliances. As Italy and Spain both rushed to buy Algerian gas, the scramble reveals an uncomfortable truth: the green transition is underway, but not fast enough to prevent the next crisis
Sonja Priebus argues that the key to Péter Magyar’s landslide victory lay in the incumbent regime’s vulnerability. Magyar’s emergence on the political scene in 2024 caused a crack in the system, and triggered a shift in expectations that enabled Tisza’s victory
In social media, while documenting what gets said is important, understanding who posts which sources to raise their visibility is also key. Katharina Tittel, William Allen, and Pedro Ramaciotti use immigration in France to show how far-right users of X cite sources strategically to achieve their goals
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