Stella Ladi
Relations between the EU and US are undergoing tumultuous change. Based on what we know from previous existential crises, the EU will coordinate its response to changing transatlantic relations using informal mechanisms and a pragmatic approach. Stella Ladi argues the EU must now develop a strategy for navigating this unfamiliar environment Read more
Louise Halberg Nielsen
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many citizens put full faith in 'the system' to keep them safe. Others were inherently mistrustful. Louise Halberg Nielsen argues that such trust, or the lack of it, was a key source of pandemic-era political disagreement. Her research findings could help societies navigate future collective crises more effectively Read more
William Allen
During the first wave of Covid-19, the UK government showed a chart plotting the country's mortalities against other high-income countries. They kept on showing it, until it revealed the UK to be the worst in Europe, at which point the slide disappeared. William Allen and Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij argue that visual comparisons are an important lever through which politicians and media can change public perceptions Read more
Tiffany D. Barnes
Contemporary politics seems besieged by crises, from pandemics to wars to economic austerity. What does crisis mean for women leaders, who remain underrepresented as chief executives and legislators across the globe? Building on their research, Tiffany D. Barnes, Diana Z. O’Brien and Jennifer M. Piscopo identify five ways to ‘think crisis, think gender’ Read more
Veronica Anghel
It is three years since the World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a pandemic, on 11 March 2020. Veronica Anghel conducts a retrospective analysis of the impact of the health crisis, from all social scientific perspectives. Did political science rise to the challenge? Read more
Sophia Hunger
In recent years, demonstrations against containment measures to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 have dominated the protest landscape. Sophia Hunger, Swen Hutter and Eylem Kanol explain what drives individuals from passive sympathy to active participation. They find that political and ideological attitudes, rather than 'biographical availability', play a critical role Read more
Eduardo Burkle
Bolsonaro's first term saw a decline in democracy and human rights in Brazil. Recent attacks on the media and judiciary, arguing election fraud, show how a second term for the far-right populist would only enhance Brazilian autocratisation. Democracy is on the line as the run-off elections approach, writes Eduardo Burkle Read more
Ben Seyd
Can policymakers expect people to comply with official health restrictions out of fear rather than because they trust the government? Ben Seyd suggests the answer is no. Governments still need trust to motivate citizens to comply with important collective rules. Read more
