Western democracies' responsiveness machinery has been quietly dismantled. To repair the representative disconnect, says Lorenzo De Sio, we must first understand precisely what is broken
Vera Tika argues that Europe’s populist radical right no longer operates only through parties and elections. Its growing influence lies in its ability to shape migration policy, public discourse, digital communication, and the democratic mainstream itself. Now, the populist radical right shapes the very logic through which democratic systems govern, define threats, manage borders, construct belonging, and normalise exclusion
We commonly hear EU leaders talk about the need to ‘defend democracy’. Yet, as Omran Shroufi shows, their discourse is often more about identifying and naming geopolitical threats than it is about tackling pervasive, home-grown structural problems of democratic disconnect and disillusionment
Tensions in the AI race don't necessarily foreshadow doom, but they are the consequence of a game of imperfect information. Jeanne Vincendeau explains that the framework of any game based on Bayesian theory is neutral. The mistrust between China and the US arises from the misinterpretation of each other's behaviour
Dana Sofi argues that public participation in Iraqi Kurdistan has expanded in form but remained limited in influence. His research shows that new civic forums increased visibility, access and local trust, yet failed to make political institutions more responsive or redistribute power from elites to citizens
The collapse of liberal democracy is often misunderstood. Regina Queiroz argues that a libertarian-conservative model has displaced liberal democracy's endorsement of popular sovereignty. Driven by re-regulation, liberalisation, and privatisation, this model prioritises market logic over social cohesion. From Portugal’s housing crisis to national populism, the author explores this ideological shift
What do battles over gender equality reveal about the state of multilateral democracy? Drawing on her participation at the UN's Commission on the Status of Women in New York, Serena Fiorletta shows how contested rights and shifting rules in negotiations around gender equality point to a deeper political crisis
Osman Bahadir Dinçer and Zeynep Sahin-Mencütek argue that Syria is not ready for large-scale refugee return. Drawing on interviews with returnees, they show how economic collapse, weak institutions, and social fragmentation undermine reintegration. Policy debates, they say, must move beyond rhetoric to reflect realities on the ground
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