Dana Sofi
In 2018, scholars discovered the 75,000-year-old remains of a Neanderthal woman in Shanidar Cave, Iraq. What followed, argues Dana Sofi, reveals how even deep prehistory can become political. Once the woman's reconstructed face circulated online, 'Shanidar Z', as she was named, grew into more than an archaeological finding, coming to represent digital struggles over identity, territory and belonging Read more
Ilan Kapoor
Football’s global spectacle does not suspend politics, says Ilan Kapoor. Rather, it reveals how national identity remains emotionally powerful, commercially valuable, and geopolitically charged Read more
Andrew Richard Ryder
Andrew Richard Ryder argues that Trump is intent on political vandalism that will undermine the postwar rules-based international order. That order may not have been perfect, but Trump's administration desires a return to interwar dog-eat-dog expansionism and virulent nationalism. Forthcoming elections in Hungary in April, and the USA in November, represent an important opportunity to thwart these regressive ambitions Read more
Federico Taddei
At the start of 2026, a meme dubbed the 'nihilist penguin' went viral. But populist media pages and extreme-right accounts soon began using edits of the meme to spread nationalist and exclusionary content. Federico Taddei argues that when the alt-right exploits them, even seemingly apolitical social media trends can carry serious political implications Read more
Sonia Sarkar
Followers of the ‘Hindutva’ Hindu nationalist movement are using AI-generated pornographic images to degrade Indian Muslim women – including public figures. Their tactics, argues Sonia Sarkar, serve the movement’s wider drive to humiliate India’s 200-million-strong Muslim community Read more
Paul D. Kenny
People are talking more and more about fascism, and often confusing it with populism. Paul D. Kenny argues that we need to understand how fascism stands out. It has never been just a matter of words or beliefs. It is a leader-centred cult that uses violence to eliminate opposition Read more
Gabriela-Elena Plăpămaru
Amid rising illiberalism, Romanian democratic institutions face growing pressure. Gabriela Plăpămaru reveals how the traditional right tried to undermine Romania’s education sector — and how progressives responded with institutional resilience Read more
Paula Iacobescu
In countries the world over, the patriotic man is the face of illiberal masculinity. Paula Iacobescu explores the illiberal male ideal in contemporary Romanian politics, through its figurehead, George Simion Read more
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