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June 9, 2026

The limits of sanctions in a multipolar era 

Ilan Kapoor As states adapt through alternative trade networks, shadow fleets, and new payment systems, Ilan Kapoor reveals how sanctions increasingly impose costs without securing political compliance  Read more
June 5, 2026

Europe 2.0: a new political economy for the age of Trump and China

Dennis Shen For decades, Europe prospered under American security guarantees, open trade and cheap external imports. That world is disappearing. Faced with a more antagonistic United States, a rising China and global geopolitical competition, Dennis Shen says the EU must either become a strategic power in its own right – or risk longer-term decline Read more
June 2, 2026

Turkish and Russian managed rivalry in Syria

Taylan Utku Düzgün Taylan Düzgün argues that Turkish–Russian coordination in Syria has never reflected a true strategic alliance. Instead, both sides have developed limited forms of cooperation to contain escalation while pursuing fundamentally incompatible goals. The Syrian conflict shows how rivalry and coordination increasingly coexist in contemporary international politics Read more
May 29, 2026

🧭 The EU’s Turkish dilemma and enlargement

Murat Aktaş Ursula von der Leyen’s move to group Türkiye with Russia and China jeopardises the EU’s new security architecture. Murat Aktaş warns that treating an official EU candidate and ally as an 'excluded partner' is a strategic miscalculation. This deepening crack between rhetoric and reality creates an ontological crisis, threatening the credibility of the enlargement policy Read more
May 12, 2026

Does political trust strengthen democracy?

Marta Kołczyńska Political trust can shape the trajectory of democracy writes Marta Kołczyńska, but its effects are conditional, uneven, and increases in trust may sometimes even be conducive to democratic decline rather than renewal Read more
April 17, 2026

How Lithuania is navigating security as Pax Americana fades 

Roza Roovers On 28 January 2026, Roza Roovers, Hassan Naderi Far and Gigi Maria Massaro spoke with Lithuanian security expert Margarita Šešelgytė. With global power balance in flux, Šešelgytė suggests that many traditional assumptions in international relations theory no longer explain today’s security environment Read more
April 16, 2026

Why Europe’s support for war on Iran is backfiring 

Shamsoddin Shariati Europe’s support for the US-Israeli war on Iran, in the hope of securing American backing for Ukraine, is a strategic mistake, argues Shamsoddin Shariati. Rather than buying goodwill in Washington, European leaders are undermining their own security, credibility, and strategic autonomy  Read more
April 10, 2026

☢️ Europe is too late to play the nuclear game 

Olamide Samuel France’s new nuclear posture and Russia’s nuclear build-up in Belarus have made Europe feel vulnerable. But, argues Olamide Samuel, stronger nuclear rhetoric will not make Europe safer or more independent. Europe’s real task is to rebuild arms control, consultation, and dialogue before nuclear danger becomes harder to contain Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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