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Avatar photoBo Rothstein

Bo Rothstein is Senior Professor of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg.

The Middle East Conflict: What Would Albert Einstein Have Said?

Bo Rothstein

Albert Einstein’s genius for unconventional thinking offers a provocative framework for breaking today's deadly stalemate through economic compensation.

Trump’s Attacks on Academia: Is the U.S. University System Itself to Blame?

Bo Rothstein

Amid Donald Trump's hostility towards universities the question remains: how did the US leading scholars lose trust?

Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One Admits

Bo Rothstein

Anger, not just inequality, drives white working-class voters—progressives must face uncomfortable truths to push back.

Totalitarian Democracy: How Populist Leaders Are Undermining Democracy

Bo Rothstein

Populist leaders exploit democracy to consolidate power, dismantle institutions and sideline expertise.

Nobel Prize in Economics: Do Democracy and Prosperity Really Go Hand in Hand?

Bo Rothstein

This year’s Nobel laureates link democracy to economic success, but their theory ignores autocratic growth and rehashes old ideas.

What is the ‘free’ in ‘Palestine should be free’?

Bo Rothstein

The left has often been embarrassed by association with ‘liberation’ movements which became custodians of authoritarian states.

What works for the left? Liberal socialism

Bo Rothstein

As the European Parliament elections loom, with the populists rising, progressives need a liberal-left narrative.

The idea of a liberal socialism

Bo Rothstein

Liberalism and socialism have been wrongly counterposed. Connected, they represent a hegemonic alternative.

Israel-Palestine: a comparative perspective

Bo Rothstein

An enduring refugee crisis, the conflict is unlike any similar episode from World War II and its aftermath.

Europe and the future of US democracy

Bo Rothstein

Europe needs to address the risk come 2024 of facing not only a non-democratic superpower to its east—but to its west too.

When capital relinquishes ownership

Bo Rothstein

As the ownership of firms becomes transferred to algorithmically-controlled index funds, why not put their human employees in charge instead?

What saved American democracy?

Bo Rothstein

Democracy in the United States survived the assault by Donald Trump and his supporting mob. But why it survived raises questions awkward for some.

What to do about economic inequality?

Bo Rothstein

Economic inequality has burgeoned as income from capital has risen faster than growth. Time to change the owners of capital.

Politics Of Fear Versus Politics Of Hope

Bo Rothstein

There are many different ways to understand the dimensions of politics. The classic right-left scale has dominated most European politics for over a hundred years

Strange Bedfellows Undermining Liberalism: Trump And Academia

Bo Rothstein

For people like myself, working as a social science researcher, these are very strange times. Almost any colleague, in whatever discipline you talk with, will

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The Spring issue of The Progressive Post is out!

In geopolitics, 2026 is challenging our certainties: from the abduction of the Venezuelan president, over the open US threats to 'take' Greenland, to the US-Israeli war on Iran. This issue tries to determine what comes next, debating power politics in the 21st century. We also examine the European Commission's first Anti-Poverty Strategy as well as the EU's need for proactive adaptation measures, exploring the legislation, resources and mechanisms to climate-proof our future.

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WSI Minimum Wage Report 2026

Minimum wage policy across Europe has shifted significantly, with many EU countries raising wages above average and anchoring them to adequate living standards. This trend is consolidating as countries increasingly adopt the reference values recommended in the European Minimum Wage Directive — recently upheld by the European Court of Justice.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT
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WSI Minimum Wage Report 2026

Minimum wage policy across Europe has shifted significantly, with many EU countries raising wages above average and anchoring them to adequate living standards. This trend is consolidating as countries increasingly adopt the reference values recommended in the European Minimum Wage Directive — recently upheld by the European Court of Justice.

DOWNLOAD THE PAPER
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A more strategic Europe? Risks and opportunities for the world of work

Europe’s ambition to achieve strategic autonomy is at risk of being undermined from within, according to the annual flagship report by the ETUI and the ETUC. Despite signs of macroeconomic resilience, weakening investment, stalled decarbonisation and growing labour market fragilities are eroding the very foundations on which Europe’s power depends. Once again, the Benchmarking Working Europe 2026 report stands out as an invaluable resource, providing a comprehensive set of indicators illustrated through more than 60 graphs and tables, with analysis from ETUI researchers.

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Is financial resilience and trust in Europe faltering?

In this episode of Eurofound Talks, host Mary McCaughey and senior researcher Eszter Sandor unpack the results of the 2025 Living and Working in the EU e-survey. While headline inflation has stabilised at 2.1%, the data reveals a continent gripped by chronic precariousness, with 57% of respondents now at risk of depression. Mary and Eszter explore how this economic insecurity is impacting institutional trust and democratic engagement.

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