Trump, Putin, Orbán, Kaczyński, May, Salvini… An Opportunity For Europe
Salvini, Orbán, Kaczyński, Trump, Putin, May… the European Union has so many enemies one wonders more and more frequently if it’ll survive. Yet these challenges
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.
A People’s Vote Isn’t Dogmatic – It’s Democratic Engagement At Its Best
The recent anti-Brexit march in London represented an exciting burst of democratic participation. As a young person, it was incredible to be part of a
Why The Left Must Talk About Migration
For a number of years now the left has been disappearing fast from the electoral scene while the far and populist right has been gaining
Brexit And the European Order
There are only a few months left until the United Kingdom formally exits the European Union. So far, the debate about Brexit has been framed
Labour Should Be Campaigning For A Citizens’ Wealth Fund Instead Of A Worker-Ownership Plan
Perhaps one of the most ambitious – and controversial proposals – floated at Labour’s conference was the plan to give workers a small ownership stake
One Small Town Against The Tide Of Italian Populism
Forgotten by time and abandoned by most of its younger generation, the old village of Riace in Calabria, clinging to the steep hillsides above the
Back To The Future: The Necessary Realignment Of European Politics
In a recent article Jean Pisani-Ferry called for the emergence of new EU political groupings that go beyond the traditional left-right competition and offer voters
Reversing The Globalisation Backlash
Reversing the backlash against globalization requires active politics in two opposite directions: the strengthening of democracy beyond the level of the nation state; and strenuous
“New” Perspectives For Europe
I am invited to talk about New Perspectives on Europe, but new ones fail me, and the Trumpian decay afflicting even the core of Europe
Why Did The Populist Far Right In Sweden Make Gains?
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The Collapse Of European Social Democracy, Part 2
In the first part of his analysis Paul Sweeney pointed to a variety of causes behind the decline of social democracy over the past 30