History repeating itself? The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on youth
Young people are anxious about the effects of the crisis yet also more trusting in the European Union—an asset which should not be squandered.
Politics
Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher driven by the core values of freedom, sustainability, and equality. These principles guide our exploration of society’s most pressing challenges. This archive page curates Social Europe articles focused on political issues, offering a rich resource for innovative thinking and informed debate.
Machine learning should increase human possibilities
Sociologist Elena Esposito suggests shifting the focus of artificial intelligence to machines as communication partners. Interview by Florian Butollo.
Digital welfare states: boundaries and opportunities
A Dutch court case has set out a framework within which the emergent digital welfare state can respect the right to privacy.
A federal budget for European citzens
The proposal by the French president and the German chancellor for a €500 billion recovery fund refocuses attention on the EU budget—but that raises wider issues.
Brexit: deaths, more deaths… and no-deal calculations
In a nightmare-scenario 'Brexit' denouement, the UK government provokes no-deal chaos from which it hopes to profit after its Covid-19 shambles.
Health policy after the crisis: more of the same or a new path?
Years of pre-crisis adhesion to ‘new public management’ in health policy have seen public provision eroded. Now is an opportunity to change course.
What when there’s a vaccine?
Amid the accelerated scientific quest for a vaccine against the coronavirus, crucial ethical and social questions have not yet been addressed.
Robots won’t make us redundant
Globalisation, digitalisation, artificial intelligence—it’s time to stop debating work in a fear-laden way.
Trade unions are key to a safe exit from the pandemic
There can be no return to ‘business as usual’ after the crisis: the ‘new normal’ must entail a profound political and social transformation.
The ecological transition is the new mission for Europe
If once a peace project, the mission for Europe today is a safe ecological transition—the Green Deal the antidote to a malaise apparent long before the pandemic.
Does European solidarity extend to the western Balkans?
The coronavirus crisis has not only highlighted the north-south faultline in the EU—it also put relations with western-Balkan aspirants under strain.
Basic income: Finland’s final verdict
The coronavirus crisis has renewed interest in the notion of a universal basic income. The full report of a two-year Finnish experiment has just appeared.
Covid-19 does not discriminate—nor should we
A paradigm shift in national and EU Roma strategies is more urgent than ever.
The Covid-19 crisis is exacerbating gender inequalities—but who cares?
The gender dimension of the coronavirus crisis is obvious when seen through a lens of gender inequality. Which leaves it invisible to many.
Social trust and government responses to Covid-19
How governments have addressed the pandemic has reflected different levels of social trust—which will have consequences for its aftermath.
Unions’ responses to the Covid-19 crisis in Europe
On International Workers’ Day, it is important to recall the crucial role played by unions in protecting the workforce, especially at times of crisis.
The four worlds of the social-ecological state
The coronavirus crisis highlights the need to update the European welfare state to a social-ecological state, able to socialise 21st-century ecological risks.