Camille Nessel
EU trade policy is widely contested by the public. Their concern: the danger of prioritising neoliberal economic interests over citizens' human rights. Yet, write Camille Nessel and Elke Verhaeghe, the EU was able to avoid mass protest by creating an ethical narrative around its trade negotiations with authoritarian Vietnam Read more
Balázs Böcskei
Balázs Böcskei and Eszter Farkas analyse the influence of partisan alignment on public health issues related to coronavirus. Their findings suggest that even in such a highly polarised country as Hungary, the significance of the pandemic over time is suppressing the influence of party alignment on Covid-related issues Read more
Mahmoud Javadi
Relations between Iran and Europe are in a pretty poor state. But Mahmoud Javadi argues that there are avenues for improvement through identification of 'shared interests' – and the EU can, and should, play its part Read more
Femke van Esch
After sixteen years at the helm, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is leaving office. While political observers often predicted her demise, at the end of her fourth term Merkel is at the height of her popularity. Using the Leadership Capital Index, Femke van Esch explains why Read more
Stefan Müller
Several studies have suggested that 'irrelevant events' outside politicians’ control, like sports results or lotteries, affect voting behaviour. Such findings raise worrying questions for democracy. Yet, write Stefan Müller and Liam Kneafsey, these concerns may be overstated. In Ireland, a country with a strong sporting tradition, match outcomes do not influence citizens’ assessments of government performance, or voting behaviour Read more
Dionysios Stivas
‘Securitising’ an alleged external threat can be a convenient tool for political leaders to justify extreme measures and policies. Dionysios Stivas looks at the case of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s handling of asylum seekers in 2015 Read more
Resul Umit
There is lively debate about the effect of casualties in armed conflicts on public opinion. Do voters rally behind their governments, or punish them for failing to prevent casualties? Resul Umit observes both scenarios at the same time in Turkey, as the public reacts differently to initial and subsequent casualties Read more
Christel Koop
Often labelled technocratic and expertise-driven, the Commission’s ‘unelected bureaucrats’ in fact take public opinion seriously. When facing crises, the Commission uses agenda-priorities to respond to citizens’ cues, write Christel Koop, Christine Reh and Edoardo Bressanelli Read more
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