Ian Budge
COP26 revealed the difficulty of agreeing pledges on climate change. But that is nothing to the problem that now arises of acting on those pledges. Ian Budge argues that the real problem of climate change is one of collective action. Here, he proposes ways to rise to that challenge Read more
Didem Türkoğlu
Massive student protests attract media attention, but less globally televised protests might also help shape policy-making, writes Didem Türkoğlu. Even lesser-known movements can build alliances and put pressure on opposition parties to 'own' activists' issues. To trace these influences, however, we must pay closer attention to local and national news Read more
Julieta Suárez-Cao
Chile’s constitutional reform started after massive social protests in 2019. With gender parity, reserved seats for indigenous people, and a significant number of seats for independent delegates, Julieta Suarez-Cao argues that the country's assembly is on track to rebuild democratic legitimacy in the years to come Read more
Martín Portos
The fight against corruption has been at the heart of recent mass protests across the world. But does corruption drive political participation, and if so, who is it mobilising? Research by Raffaele Bazurli and Martín Portos suggests – counterintuitively – that people with less education are the most likely to rise up 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
Louise Knops
The distinctiveness of the new climate change activism, writes Louise Knops, is the unlikely combination of two elements, science and emotion. These challenge deep-rooted beliefs, and introduce a new vision of climate change – and its possible resolution Read more
Maria Gloria Polimeno
The EU has failed to support democracy and political change in the Middle East and North Africa. Maria Gloria Polimeno argues for a more inclusivist social approach, along with radically revised foreign policy Read more
Akudo McGee
Enraged by Poland’s new abortion law, thousands of protestors filled the streets in late October. Many protests were organised by liberal civil society organisations, yet, argues Akudo McGee, it is precisely through civil society that the government has been able to exert its anti-liberal agenda Read more
