Social Europe articles on politics

Migration and the Crisis of Human Rights The global financial crisis has had a profound effect on European politics. As often happens in such hard times, these events have resulted in an upsurge in tribal, xenophobic instincts. This has been particularly visible in the reaction to the increased flow of migrants to Europe from Africa […]

In any article published in the international press about Robert Biedroń, it seems almost obligatory to describe him as the new ‘Polish Macron’. Biedroń recently stood down as mayor of Słupsk to build a new national political party that will stand in next year’s European and parliamentary elections. He is a long-standing left-wing political activist, […]

Massimiliano Santini’s recent article here finishes with “…the solution may be in elaborating and putting forward a new narrative. It’s the narrative, stupid!” Please, not a new narrative! That would be stupid! To cut it short: what Europe needs is credibility, not a new narrative. Europe has to deliver. The only really convincing narrative is: […]

Facebook is regularly in the news as a force disrupting democratic politics across the globe but what if democracy could be the model to save Facebook? The social network connecting 2.2 billion people has had a rocky time of late. From the alleged malevolent interference by foreign actors in the last US Presidential election via […]

In a critical moment for Europe, this Manifesto (that all European citizens can sign after reading in full below) proposes to escape immobilism and abstract discussions by putting on the table a concrete plan to democratise both European institutions and policies, with a view to bringing more fiscal and social justice and to effectively address Europe’s […]

In six months, millions of Europeans will go to the ballot box to choose the next European Parliament (EP). Nationalists and self-proclaimed progressives have already designated this election as a confrontation between democrats and autocrats, and between pro- and anti-Europeans. This is not what this election is about, and it is not by demonising those […]

We cannot banalize the power and importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in the modern economy. Nor can we legitimize everything it can be used for across Europe and beyond. AI, along with trans-humanism and the like, is the next frontier of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). These all have the potential to transform humanity’s […]

Since the general election in September, Sweden has found itself in a political deadlock awaiting the formation of a government. One of the issues dividing the two main parliamentary blocs is whether there should be a cap on profit margins for publicly funded private schools. A government proposal to introduce such regulation was stopped by […]

COP 24 in Poland starts the exit of Chancellor Angela Merkel from international climate politics. And when she finally leaves in 2021, her exit from negotiations on global warming may create chaos with significant ramifications, if action to “save the planet” continues to lag as it has since the 2015 Paris Agreement and the vacuum […]

There’s this prevalent idea that we have to take a firm stand against right-wing populism. Yet all the anti-populist hashtags, public un-invites, and goodwill gigs of recent years have done nothing to halt its rise. Clearly, we need a more effective strategy, and the path to finding it begins by asking a simple question: whose […]

In August, Bono, lead singer of U2, wrote an editorial on Europe in which he pointed out that it may not be romantic or sexy but Europe is “much more than just a geography… [its values and aspirations] go to the core of who we are as human beings, and who we want to be. […]