Jeremy Ko
Populist governance poses a profound threat to universities, undermining the autonomy essential to knowledge production. Jeremy Ko and James F. Downes reveal how populist leaders invoking 'the people' against elites consistently reduce academic freedom – and right-wing variants accelerate the decline most sharply Read more
Marina Milić
In 2024–25, Serbia’s leaderless, decentralised, nonviolent student movement made a rare thing happen: it made fear change sides. In 2026, the government has shifted from managing crowds to tightening procedural control, targeting the institutions that sheltered resistance. Universities, argues Marina Milić, are now the frontline rebels – disciplined through labour rules and a financial ‘kill switch’ Read more
Visnja Vukov
Comparing Central and Eastern Europe with the Western Balkans, Visnja Vukov argues that the EU’s governance of economic integration is a decisive lever of transformation. When the EU prioritises and credibly enforces these requirements, it constrains rent-seeking and weakens state capture. When the EU defers them, however, governments can entrench clientelist political–economic coalitions Read more
Rafaela Gonzalez Lucioni
EU enlargement, without credible enforcement of democratic standards, threatens the Union’s integrity. Cases like Hungary and Serbia expose the dangers of performative reforms and weak accountability. Rafaela Gonzalez Lucioni argues that to remain a values-based project, the EU must reform internal mechanisms and adopt a phased, conditional approach to accession Read more
Albrecht Rothacher
On the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre in eastern Bosnia, Albrecht Rothacher looks back at the significance of that event, and the confederal State it produced. Three decades on, can the EU realistically consider Bosnia and Herzegovina as a potential member state? Read more
Asia Leofreddi
A student-led movement is challenging what they claim is the 'capture' of the state by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. Asia Leofreddi reflects on how this uprising, sparked by tragedy and corruption, seeks to transform power structures. While Serbia's political future remains uncertain, the people's call for change grows louder Read more
Ecem Nazlı Üçok
Ecem Nazlı Üçok explores how student protests in Turkey, Serbia, and Georgia reflect more than isolated unrest — they reveal a transnational wave of political mourning, democratic erosion, and Gen Z-led resistance. In the face of authoritarianism, students are not just reacting — they are reimagining the future Read more
Magdalena König
Enlargement’s symbolic revival after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine risks repeating past failures. Magdalena König warns that without credible timelines and reform momentum, the EU may trap candidates — old and new — in an ‘eternal waiting room’. Frustration, backsliding, and geopolitical drift are likely unless promises are matched by progress Read more
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