The idea of a liberal socialism
Liberalism and socialism have been wrongly counterposed. Connected, they represent a hegemonic alternative.
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.
European constitutional reform hangs in the balance
The EU needs more coherent governance not just to accommodate its enlargement but to assume its global responsibilities.
Treaty changes for an EU that works for citizens
The European Parliament last month endorsed proposals for treaty changes which would trump nationalistic vetoes.
Investing in human security in Europe
Public investment has been skewed towards the military in the last decade when a much wider array of threats are in evidence.
Barking up the wrong European tree
A multi-level Europe of networks, Jan Zielonka argues, is the flexible alternative to brittle clashes over ‘sovereignty’.
Vladimir Putin’s killer patriotism
Last year’s ‘partial mobilisation’ triggered a backlash against the Kremlin and Putin is fearful of a repeat.
Geert Wilders and Dutch coalition prospects
The election victory in the Netherlands for the Party for Freedom fits into a wider picture of European radical-right populism.
Big Tech lobbying is derailing the AI Act
Behind closed doors, the companies have fiercely lobbied the European Union to leave advanced artificial-intelligence systems unregulated.
Ukraine and Moldova to test new accession process
Ukraine and Moldova have taken a huge step towards European Union membership but hazards lie ahead.
Italy, Albania, asylum and ‘European values’
Albania’s agreement to process offshore asylum-seekers heading for Italy, Lily Lynch writes, is not a good look.
Is Germany going authoritarian-left?
Sahra Wagenknecht's new party has a questionable support base and doubtful prospects—like others of its kind across Europe.
How the war in Ukraine has transformed the EU
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a profound effect on the European Union, whose response is defining its trajectory.
Israel-Palestine: what kind of solidarity?
The imperative of solidarity is with all those Jews and Palestinians who seek the solution neither Hamas nor Netanyahu wants.
War in Gaza: the silence of Europe’s leaders
The European Union must find a collective and distinctive voice to seek to rein in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
Social democracy in the global south at a crossroads
Amid geoeconomic disruption and geopolitical competition, the alternatives are stark: democratic socialism or barbarism.
Big tent: the social-democratic election formula
A unity cemented by tolerance is needed for social-democratic success in the elections to the European Parliament.
A new world order: from warring states to citizens
It will take decades of intellectual effort, Paul Mason writes, before a new world order emerges from the cumulative chaos.