Hager Ali
Over recent weeks, Western pundits have been quick to claim recent events in Tunisia are evidence of a ‘failed democracy experiment’. But Hager Ali and Ameni Mehrez argue that the protests are more a testament to democratic resilience than failure Read more
Kristian Vrede Skaaning Frederiksen
Citizens of young democracies sanction governments for violating democratic principles. However, as Kristian Vrede Skaaning Frederiksen finds, in new research based on data from 43 countries, citizens of old democracies do not. Given recent attacks on democracy across the world, the insights are important for policymakers as well as citizens Read more
Mirko Heinzel
The pandemic has led to an increase in experts' authority – yet substantial contestation of their expertise, write Mirko Heinzel and Andrea Liese. This polarisation poses a risk for proper public deliberation and the fight against Covid Read more
Alistair Cole
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of corruption and misuse of influence. Alistair Cole traces Sarkozy’s misfortunes in part to his personal political style, but also, more profoundly, to a broader move towards transparency that has pitted judges against politicians Read more
Julia Schulte-Cloos
To understand support for right-wing populist parties, we need to analyse not just voters who disengage from established parties, but also those who never voted in the first place, writes Julia Schulte-Cloos Read more
Elisa Volpi
Political distrust and reduced party identification suggest that political parties are in crisis. Elisa Volpi argues that parties are not in terminal decline, but undergoing a process of adaptation Read more
Simon Otjes
On 15 January, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was forced to resign after thousands of parents in the Netherlands were wrongly accused of benefit fraud. But the outcry has not diminished faith in Rutte as a leader, writes Simon Otjes Read more
Francesco Saverio Montesano
An increasing number of scholars want to campaign for positive change outside the academic echo chamber, but overlook their own evidence when they refuse to engage with any view not exclusively based on science. Francesco S. Montesano argues that this will only deepen the gap between ‘experts’ and the rest of society Read more
