Sweden's election defeated the Tidö bloc and blocked the Sweden Democrats' route into government. Yet the restrictive political settlement they helped construct may endure. Vera Tika argues that far-right normalisation is not automatically reversed by electoral defeat: once institutionalised, illiberal change can acquire a political life of its own
Political decisions about what governments collect, publish and use can shape more than statistics. Sebastián León-Giraldo argues that public knowledge is part of democratic infrastructure. When states make some populations harder to see, they can also weaken the evidence used to identify inequality and hold power accountable
Westminster's voting system is failing, and 193 MPs have demanded change. But democracy's defenders must guard institutional gains and address the grievances on which the far-right feeds. A National Commission, says Gulay Icoz, honours both. Hasty legislation honours neither
Argentina has tightened controls on oil development around the Malvinas/Falklands and announced more defence funding. Nicolás E. Salvoni examines what the package can achieve. Restrictions may hurt firms with mainland interests, but the budget increase must still translate into military capability if Argentina is to sustain a stronger regional presence Argentina can make oil extraction […]
Mohsen Askari compares Iran’s 1979 revolution with the 2026 uprising to reveal a paradox about digital communication technology. Though modern tech may swiftly mobilise collective action, authoritarian states with control over internet infrastructure can still interfere with the collective knowledge base
Akash Shah analyses the necessity of HALO for NATO’s integration of space architecture. Here, he suggests that President Trump’s push for European self-reliance, data sovereignty and technical challenges could all explain the US absence from this initiative
The rules-based international order is not simply breaking down. Governments are increasingly governing through exceptions built into the rules themselves, argues Ilan Kapoor
Britain’s disability-benefit debate is commonly framed as a choice between containing spending and protecting claimants. Pierce Leslie argues that a better settlement would instead distinguish income protection from employment support and make it safer for people with partial or fluctuating capacity to work
Humour is effective as a line of attack against authoritarian post-truthers like Trump. And like post-truth, humour is about feelings and the effect on your audience. But Lasse Thomassen suggests that humour – used well – can help make us see new truths to which we were otherwise blind
A recent ruling in the case of a Slovak journalist who suffered years of online abuse is a stark reminder of widespread gendered violence against women in public life. Ján Michalko argues that this form of violence puts democracies at risk and demands an urgent response, including efforts to transform unequal gender norms that enable it
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