The success of the xenophobic far right party, Sweden Democrats (SD), has brought international attention to Sweden’s latest general election. As The Guardian noted: “far right gains threaten Europe's … Read More
Columns & Interviews
No People, Big Problem’: Democracy And Its Discontents In Latvia’s National Elections
No people, no problem (Нет людей, никаких проблем) is the quote often attributed to Joseph Stalin. Yet, if there is a lesson from Latvia’s October 6, 2018 national election, the problem was not the … Read More
A Single European EU President: For A Democratic European Polity
Experts and pundits have long discussed how to fill the perceived gap between ordinary citizens and the workings of the European institutions. EU institutions have been suffering for a long time from … Read More
Lobbying In The EU: An Often Unholy Alliance
With movies such as Inside Job and Thank you for Smoking or TV series like House of Cards, the US model of influencing decisions and policies of legislators, also known as “pressure and purchase”, has … Read More
What Is Wrong With The Nordic Model?
Political scientists love the Nordics. They seem to have everything right. Their model is often held up as the pinnacle of good governance, economics, and social policy. Adoption of Scandinavian … Read More
Welfare Policies And Citizens’ Political Engagement
Under budgetary, demographic and competitive challenges, welfare policies have undergone important changes in recent decades. Welfare state retrenchment in Western democracies has not only entailed … Read More
Is The Monetary System Facing The Risk Of Recession?
The International Monetary Fund, other economic institutions, politicians, experts, and a good number of indicators predict a new economic downturn. The causes will be diverse but the significant one … Read More
Politics, Pessimism and Populism
The rise of right-wing populism is probably the most pressing problem facing Europe today. Many analysts, including myself, have linked the rise of populism to the decline of the social democratic or … Read More
Blogs
Are Blue-Collar Jobs Turning White?
Manual jobs in European manufacturing are being transformed as blue-collar workers take on more intellectual tasks. This is a consequence of the increasing use of digital tools and the growing … Read More
Alleviating The Working Poor Will Take More Than Job Creation
With the onset of the economic crisis since 2008, a new term, the working poor, has emerged at European level. This new “class” features a portion of the population that, although working, is paid … Read More
Italy And The New Eurozone Risk Morphology
It’s a well-established fact that the eurozone as a monetary union is a weird animal. Among the main reasons that surely stands out is its one-size-fits-all monetary policy that does not fail to be … Read More
EUSSR: A Reasonable Analogy?
Dear Brian,Thank you for your sincere letter that I read with great interest. I respectfully disagree with many things you wrote and hence feel compelled to reply openly. It will also help me to … Read More
Prevent Another Economic Meltdown With A European Green New Deal
In the acres of recent coverage about the causes of the Lehman Brothers collapse and how to ensure it doesn’t happen again, there was much emphasis on changing the EU’s economic imperatives away from … Read More
Ending Austerity: Public Spending Key To Stability And Fairness
The term “fiscal” comes from the Latin for “purse”. When it comes to fiscal policy – how the government manages the country’s budget – a lot of people wrongly compare the country’s purse, and how it’s … Read More
EU Citizens’ Involvement During The Age Of Austerity
A democratic society is characterized by the people’s electoral will. The quality of democracy is determined by the sovereign action of its citizens and the level of human rights protection. It is … Read More
Germany Is Quietly Rebalancing Its Economy – But This Will Not Fix The Eurozone’s Flaws
Ever since the financial and sovereign debt crisis, the political and economic implications of Germany’s unbalanced economy have lured the attention of academics, policy institutions, the public and … Read More
Talks & Conversations
The Economy’s Cuban Missle Crisis
In 2008 a global financial meltdown was just barely contained. But Adam Tooze says that the crisis of confidence has had long aftershocks.Adam Tooze, Columbia University historian and author of … Read More
How To Build Progressive Power
Even in these dark times, I am confident that we can defeat Donald Trump and all he stands for. But it will require building a multiracial, middle, and working class coalition dedicated to renewing … Read More
Brexit: Trading In Choppy Waters
There’s no better trade deal for the UK than being in the EU but the Chequers ‘sticky tape’ may just help the UK Brexit if it still wants to.Dr Lorand Bartels, Reader in International Law at the … Read More
How Brexit Could Create A Crisis At The Irish Border
When the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, it was largely based on a desire to take back control of its borders. While the UK was a member of the EU, trade and people … Read More
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