Sort Articles

democracy

May 28, 2021

In search of legitimacy: the Chilean road to a new constitution

Julieta Suárez-Cao Chile’s constitutional reform started after massive social protests in 2019. With gender parity, reserved seats for indigenous people, and a significant number of seats for independent delegates, Julieta Suarez-Cao argues that the country's assembly is on track to rebuild democratic legitimacy in the years to come Read more
May 27, 2021

How mainstream parties respond to the populist challenge

Fabian Habersack Populist radical right parties have been remarkably successful in recent decades, yet strategies to contain them regularly fail. Can non-radical parties do anything to counter them? Fabian Habersack suggests mainstream parties could signal ‘responsiveness’ while remaining committed to their policy goals Read more
May 24, 2021

How corruption drives political participation – and the people most likely to mobilise

Martín Portos The fight against corruption has been at the heart of recent mass protests across the world. But does corruption drive political participation, and if so, who is it mobilising? Research by Raffaele Bazurli and Martín Portos suggests – counterintuitively – that people with less education are the most likely to rise up Read more
May 20, 2021

Religious freedom under attack in France

Emmanuelle Bertout Religious freedom is deteriorating in France. Laws aimed at maintaining the confessional neutrality of the French state are turning into attacks on individuals’ right to religious freedom, writes Emmanuelle Bertout In February 2021, the French National Assembly adopted the highly controversial bill Consolidating the Principles of the Republic. The Senate followed suit in April. The […] Read more
May 11, 2021

The Visegrád Group: an uneasy balance between East and West

Aliaksei Kazharski Following the end of the Cold War, the Visegrád 4 of Hungary, Poland, Czechia and Slovakia embarked on a 'return to the West'. These countries, writes Aliaksei Kazharski, are hardly beacons of democracy. But could they anchor Europeanisation and democratic change in East-Central Europe? Read more
May 4, 2021

Why autocrats redistribute income and wealth

Lars Pelke It is a common assumption that autocrats have no incentive to redistribute income and wealth. Not so, says Lars Pelke. Uncertainty about the outcomes of autocratic elections can incentivise dictators to redistribute wealth, especially when the incumbents’ ruling coalition is inclusive Read more
April 26, 2021

Voting for the 'lesser evil': the Peruvian Presidential election

Lucía Dammert On 6 June, amid a profound health and economic crisis, presidential elections take place in Peru. Voting for the lesser of two evils is not new, writes Lucia Dammert, yet the 2021 election deepens Peru's political deterioration and further weakens its democratic governance Read more
April 8, 2021

Conspiracy theories are everywhere amid the pandemic. Politicians should face up to their role in helping to peddle them

Annemarie Walter During the coronacrisis, conspiracy theories have proliferated, and politicians who use them for political gain are – at least partly – to blame. Let the January attack on the US Capitol be a warning to Europe, write Annemarie Walter and Hugo Drochon Read more

The Loop

Cutting-edge analysis showcasing the work of the political science discipline at its best.
Read more
THE EUROPEAN CONSORTIUM FOR POLITICAL RESEARCH
Advancing Political Science
© 2026 European Consortium for Political Research. The ECPR is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) number 1167403 ECPR, Harbour House, 6-8 Hythe Quay, Colchester, CO2 8JF, United Kingdom.
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram