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April 20, 2026

Why regime-change wars return when world order is in transition 

Fulvio Attinà Why do regime-change wars re-emerge when global order is under strain? As multilateral institutions lose effectiveness and legitimacy, Fulvio Attinà argues that states are increasingly turning to unilateral or coalition-based force. Interventions such as those in Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, and Iran reflect not isolated crises, but a deeper process of coalition reconfiguration during systemic transition  Read more
April 16, 2026

Why Europe’s support for war on Iran is backfiring 

Shamsoddin Shariati Europe’s support for the US-Israeli war on Iran, in the hope of securing American backing for Ukraine, is a strategic mistake, argues Shamsoddin Shariati. Rather than buying goodwill in Washington, European leaders are undermining their own security, credibility, and strategic autonomy  Read more
April 10, 2026

Contested body counts, a missing airman, and the (necro)politics of America’s war in Iran 

Kandida Purnell The recent rescue of a US airman from Iranian soil obscures a deeper truth. As contested casualty figures emerge from America’s war, Kandida Purnell argues that what we see, count, and mourn in war is never neutral. Rather, it is carefully governed through a longstanding necropolitical logic that shapes public perception and sustains conflict Read more
April 7, 2026

Iran’s voiceless majority

Hossein Kermani Hossein Kermani argues that a largely voiceless majority in Iran is routinely misrepresented by both the Islamic regime and its loudest opponents. Amid the current Iran-Israel-US conflict, he shows how many Iranians are rejecting simplistic binaries and instead are confronting the war’s causes, costs, and uncertainties Read more
March 20, 2026

India in a fix amid US-Israel war against Iran 

Sonia Sarkar India sits precariously in this US-Israel-led war against its old regional partner Iran. This, says Sonia Sarkar, is because of Hindu supremacist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proximity to Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu  Read more
March 20, 2026

The Iran crisis is deepening Britain’s anxiety over its international role

Ruairidh Brown Trump’s dismissal of Keir Starmer as 'no Churchill' cuts Britain deep, argues Ruairidh Brown. His open contempt strikes at the heart of Britain’s post-imperial anxiety Read more
March 19, 2026

Why Iran’s institutional design complicates regime change 

Williamkery Gaddam Predictions of regime collapse in Iran often misunderstand the Islamic Republic’s internal mechanics, says Williamkery Gaddam. Authority is not centralised but distributed among clerical bodies, security organisations, and political institutions. This enables the regime to manage elite competition and absorb external shocks, making externally driven transformation far harder than many observers assume Read more
March 19, 2026

The Iran-Israel-US war and the illusion of regime collapse

Cristian Pîrvulescu The attack on Iran by Israel and the US can be seen as an attempt to force regime change. Yet, says Cristian Pîrvulescu, authoritarian regimes rarely collapse when leaders fall. Systems built around institutions often survive because they reproduce power through structures that organise coercion and coordinate elites Read more

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THE EUROPEAN CONSORTIUM FOR POLITICAL RESEARCH
Advancing Political Science
Š 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.
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