Anja Durovic
Democratic governments conduct extensive public opinion research, but we know little about how they use it. When and why do they seek to find out what the public thinks? Opening the black box of government polling in Germany, Anja Durovic and Tinette Schnatterer find governments exploit polls in a highly strategic way. Read more
Thomas Poguntke
Thomas Poguntke argues that the shock results of recent elections in two German Länder show how Germany's party system has lost its capacity to integrate radical challengers. As a result, coalition formation now increasingly requires alliances which do not work – and this feeds popular disaffection. Read more
Geoffrey Swenson
Promoters of the rule of law stress the importance of non-state justice for security, stability, and access to justice in the Global South. But as Geoffrey Swenson highlights, actual foreign policy tells a different story. Risk aversion – rather than results – drives foreign policy. Successful rule of law promotion ultimately demands greater risk Read more
Frederik Henriksen
Frederik Henriksen analyses anti-systemic, populist movements during the Covid-19 pandemic. Here, he explains how these movements rely on alternative news media to establish their own digital information bubbles, and shows how ideological partisanship evolved in these environments Read more
Jan Philipp Thomeczek
Jan Philipp Thomeczek argues that European left-wing populist parties become more moderate as a consequence of their participation in government. Here, he draws on recent examples from Spain, Greece and Germany. Read more
Mehmet Haşim Çevik
Right-wing populist parties have divergent positions on policies that seek to combat climate change. Key to understanding why, writes Mehmet Haşim Çevik, is whether the country relies on domestic fossil fuels Read more
Ragnhild Louise Muriaas
Women have made great strides towards equal representation in parliaments across the world. Their short parliamentary careers, however, still stop them from representing their constituents as effectively as men colleagues, write Ragnhild L. Muriaas and Torill Stavenes, guest editors of The Loop’s blog series to mark International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March Read more
Flora Baumgartner
Left-wing German politician Sahra Wagenknecht is launching a new party, Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht – für Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit (– for Reason and Justice). With its likely ‘left-authoritarian’ agenda, BSW looks poised to shake up the German system. Flora Baumgartner analyses the party's profile, support base and prospects, placing it in the context of broader European developments Read more
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