Kaja Kaźmierska
Kaja Kaźmierska analyses a new law passed recently in Poland which violates the Constitution multiple times on the pretext of investigating Russian influence over Polish politics. Opposition parties have dubbed this law the 'Lex Tusk', arguing that its purpose is predominantly to prevent a Tusk victory in the forthcoming elections Read more
Cindy Regnier
Renewed tensions between Russia and the West amid war in Ukraine have focused attention on the ‘Suwałki gap’. According to Cindy Regnier, this corridor along the Lithuanian-Polish border has been increasingly securitised. Still, any attempt to seize control over it would gain the Russians little Read more
Akudo McGee
All regimes have courts but through so-called ‘autocratic legalism’, autocrats leverage them to consolidate regimes without initially raising red flags. Akudo McGee argues that autocratic legalism easily flies under the radar because early warning signs of autocratisation are subtle. Indicators of autocratisation, therefore, need better taxonomies of authoritarianism to work Read more
Danielle Pullan
SCOTUS recently overturned the federal right to abortion, leaving many open questions about the future of abortion policy, both in the US and around the globe. Danielle Pullan compares the new post-Roe abortion policy landscape in the US to the current state of abortion governance in Europe, highlighting its similarity to the EU’s approach Read more
Matthijs Bogaards
Can we see autocracy more clearly if we see it as the opposite of democracy? Or do we need to look at autocracy as a category in its own right? Matthijs Bogaards provides an answer through a critical examination of the concept of defective autocracy, the mirror of defective democracy. Read more
Stefan Wallaschek
Stefan Wallaschek, Kavyanjali Kaushik, Monika Verbalytė and Aleksandra Sojka highlight how gender equality campaigns, especially around International Women's Day, are only effective by adapting their messages to the national contexts. These campaigns must incorporate initiatives that allow more citizens to mobilise and take action Across Europe, progress towards gender equality has met with resistance from […] Read more
Irene Landini
Eastern European governments show a high degree of solidarity towards Ukrainian asylum seekers fleeing the conflict provoked by the Russian invasion. At the same time, these governments continue to resist asylum seekers from the Middle East. Irene Landini explains the geographical, cultural and political factors behind this contradiction. Read more
Filip Ilkowski
Relations between Poland and the EU have reached a nadir with the recent clash between the Polish Constitutional Court and the European Union Court of Justice. This conflict, argues Filip Ilkowski, reflects much deeper divisions connected to EU geopolitics and ideological clashes in Polish society Read more
