Sadie Zarris
Serbia's student movement is on the ballot on 25 October, but no student is a candidate. Drawing on internal documents, Sadie Zarris shows how a movement without leaders wrote itself an exacting rulebook, enforced by nothing but consent. The harder test, she argues, comes once its candidates become MPs Read more
PĂŠter KĂĄllai
Hungary's 2026 parliamentary election revealed how a politically captured system of minority representation and non-resident voting continue to shape electoral outcomes. PĂŠter KĂĄllai, BalĂĄzs MajtĂŠnyi and AlĂz Nagy argue that meaningful reform must address both Read more
Jeremy Ko
Populist governance poses a profound threat to universities, undermining the autonomy essential to knowledge production. Jeremy KoâŻandâŻJames F. Downes reveal how populist leaders invoking 'the people' against elites consistently reduce academic freedom â and right-wing variants accelerate the decline most sharply Read more
Marina MiliÄ
In 2024â25, Serbiaâs 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, arguesâŻMarina MiliÄ, are now the frontline rebels â disciplined through labour rules and a financial âkill switchâ Read more
Visnja Vukov
Comparing Central and Eastern Europe with the Western Balkans, Visnja Vukov argues that the EUâs 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 politicalâeconomic coalitions Read more
Rafaela Gonzalez Lucioni
EU enlargement, without credible enforcement of democratic standards, threatens the Unionâs 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 VuÄiÄ.âŻAsia LeofreddiâŻreflects 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
Š 2026 European Consortium for Political Research. The ECPR is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) number 1167403 ECPR, Harbour House, 6-8 Hythe Quay, Colchester, CO2 8JF, United Kingdom.
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