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November 22, 2023

Divided by sovereignty claims – territorial identity and societal polarisation

Laia Balcells Laia Balcells, Lesley-Ann Daniels, and Alexander Kuo highlight the role of contentious territorial issues in shaping societal divisions. They study three European regions —Scotland, Catalonia, and Northern Ireland — that have salient territorial claims but very different histories. All three, however, exhibit striking similarities in levels of social polarisation Read more

October 10, 2023

Gender (in)equality in socioeconomic participation at substate levels in Italy and Spain

Alexandra Tomaselli Substate laws and policies may play a key role in promoting or hindering the socioeconomic participation of those who face intersectional discrimination. Alexandra Tomaselli examines how women and LGBTQIA+ individuals cope with their access to work, education, and services in South Tyrol and Catalonia Read more

August 2, 2023

A bitter victory and a sweet defeat: Spain’s general election

Ana Mar Fernández Pasarín Ana Mar Fernández Pasarín and Asbel Bohigues continue the Loop's coverage of Spain's 23 July general election, analysing the results and the (im)possible parliamentary alliances. They highlight that the left has a chance to continue in government but that a repetition of the election is not implausible Read more

July 28, 2023

Spain’s electoral gridlock and the road ahead

Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa & James F. Downes argue that the recent 2023 Spanish general election is likely to lead to further volatility and fragmentation in Spain on both the left and right of the political spectrum. In turn, this will make governing in Spain a very difficult task ahead in the future Read more

July 27, 2023

Peripheral parties hold the key in the aftermath of the Spanish elections

Sonia Alonso Sáenz de Oger After Spain’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, the national right parties won more seats, but the left parties have a better chance of governing. Sonia Alonso and Bonnie N. Field examine the territorial and national identity divisions that will make or break governance Read more

February 21, 2022

Why Catalan pro-independence parties want their own state

Anwen Elias Many assume that pro-independence parties want their own state because they believe the state has treated their territory unfairly. Anwen Elias and Núria Franco-Guillén argue that Catalan independentists also want independence to improve democracy and create a fairer, more prosperous society Read more

November 22, 2021

Bailed-out governments did not lose policy-making discretion during the Eurozone crisis

Catherine Moury Catherine Moury, Stella Ladi, Daniel Cardoso and Angie Gago argue that bailed-out governments during the Eurozone crisis exercised more leverage than assumed. Despite international market pressure and creditors’ conditionality, bailed-out governments were able to advocate, resist, shape or roll back some of the policies demanded by the EU’s Troika Read more

August 6, 2021

🌊 Back to the future: illiberal democracy feeds on fascist ghosts

Luca Manucci Luca Manucci, in a panoramic survey of the rise of illiberalism in our times, argues that this trend is feeding on authoritarian historical legacies and memories which are being rewritten before our eyes. It is an exercise all democrats should challenge, and resist Read more

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