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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.

Stylised portrait of Donald Trump with thoughtful expression.

The Vulnerability of Trump’s Personality Cult

Jan-Werner Müller

Trump's personality cult follows a well-worn historical playbook — but his pathological narcissism ensures he cannot deploy it effectively.

People walking with briefcases near a large scale symbolising justice.

Social Rights: The Idea Whose Time Has Come?

Robin Wilson

A remarkable consensus on social rights is emerging as Europe's answer to inequality, democratic backsliding and geopolitical upheaval.

People protesting with Dutch flags in front of historic building.

Proportional Representation Is Breaking Dutch Democracy

Tarunabh Khaitan and Mike Winterwerp

As coalition formation grows ever more tortuous, the Netherlands must confront whether proportional representation itself is the problem.

Soldier sitting with rifle against red background and Myanmar temples.

Europe’s Duty-Free Access Bankrolls Myanmar’s Military Repression

Khaing Zar Aung and Atle Høie

Five years after the coup, foreign brands and the EU's trade preferences continue to generate hard currency for a military regime waging war on its own people.

Soldiers in a lush landscape with vibrant butterflies and a swirling sky.

Armed Conflict or Mutual Survival?

Richard Wilkinson, Roberto De Vogli and Kate Pickett

Militarism and ecological collapse are not separate emergencies — they are the same emergency, feeding each other in a spiral humanity cannot afford to ignore.

Vivid, abstract portrait of a man with a cityscape in the background.

Washington’s Russia U-Turn Exposes the Real Logic of Sanctions

Ilan Kapoor

The easing of Russian oil restrictions amid the Iran crisis reveals sanctions as tools of power, not justice.

Stylized digital portrait of Jürgen Habermas with glasses and white hair.

Jürgen Habermas Shaped the Postwar Order — His Death Must Not Mark Its End

Peter Verovšek

The greatest democratic theorist of the postwar era leaves behind a world dismantling everything he defended.

A man in a suit stands between American and European flags, symbolising political differences.

Let’s Admit It. Americans Are Not Like Us

Philip Stephens

The Atlantic alliance is over. The best to hope for is an entente recognising Europe and the US still have shared interests.

Classical statue of a woman reading, surrounded by abstract red and grey elements.

Liberal Democracy Depends on Social Rights

Aoife Nolan

Democratic backsliding and rising social insecurity have gone hand in hand.

Refugees and a border guard looking at the border wall.

Iran May Become the Next Failed State — and Europe Will Pay the Price

Guillaume Duval

The US-Israeli assault on Iran was launched mid-negotiation, without UN backing, making it more dangerous to international law than Iraq.

Illustration of economic inequality with figures on a scale and industrial background.

Extreme Inequality Created the World Jeffrey Epstein Exploited

Kate Pickett

The Epstein revelations are symptoms of a deeper crisis: a political economy that rewards extraction over creation and concentrates power in ever fewer hands.

European politicians reading on red stairs, symbolising cautious political approach.

Europe’s Centre-Left Chose Caution Over Conviction and Now Faces Collapse

Rodrigo Vaz

Bold choices, not better messaging, are the only way to save Europe's centre-left from electoral extinction.

Statue of justice holding scales with world map background.

International Law’s Crisis of Faith: Double Standards from North to South

Lina Lorenzoni-Escobar and Kevin Crow

From Venezuela to Gaza, the selective application of international law by powerful states and their critics alike is draining the post-1945 order of its last reserves of legitimacy.

Flags of Spain and Norway combined with a textured, vintage style.

Spain and Norway Expose the Bankruptcy of Europe’s Iran Response

Gábor Scheiring

Europe's response to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran exposes a continent locked in dependency and struggling to find its voice.

Illustration of a house with autumn trees and coins, symbolising social issues.

Pensions, Housing, Jobs: One Fund to Fix Them All

Frank Hoffer

A compulsory second-tier pension fund invested exclusively in social housing would tame rents, boost employment, and deliver stable retirement income.

Graffiti of a worker breaking bricks, symbolising labour and resilience.

Populism’s Real Target in Europe Is Not the Elite — It Is the Worker

Francesco Seghezzi

Populist leaders promise to empower “the people” but systematically sideline the institutions through which workers actually exercise power.

Artistic portrait of Donald Trump with vibrant colours and abstract background.

The Iran War Has Nothing to Do with Nuclear Weapons

Timothy Snyder

The assault on Iran defies every stated justification; the real motives point to democratic backsliding and personal enrichment.

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S&D Housing Storytelling

Europeans are struggling with rising housing and rental costs, and we have been working in various ways to address this, because we believe a home is a right for everyone.
 Recently, we travelled across Europe to hear directly from people who struggle to afford a decent place to live. They shared a glimpse of how the housing crisis has affected their lives and why having a home is so important to them. Take a moment to check out their stories. They remind us why it is so urgent to act.

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ETUI Advertisement

New Edition - Social policy in the European Union: state of play 2025

Can Europe preserve its distinctive social model while simultaneously rearming, reindustrialising, and reorganising its economy in a more conflictual and competitive world? This is the central question raised in this new edition of the Bilan social, a reference publication released every spring for more than 25 years by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and the European Social Observatory (OSE).

READ HERE
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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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The Summer issue of The Progressive Post is out! 

The EU is belatedly awakening to a changing Mediterranean sea, where more assertive regional powers are reclaiming a role.

The new issue of the magazine also reflects on how we struggle to keep pace with AI innovations, examines the uncertainties surrounding the execution of the Pact on Migration and Asylum and the risk to human rights posed by the Return Regulation, and focuses on the EU Commission's newly proposed Industrial Accelerator Act.

READ THE MAGAZINE
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WSI Industrial Action Report 2025 cover page with red and white design.

The 2025 collective bargaining year in Germany was once again characterised by numerous strikes. The WSI recorded 261 industrial disputes in 2025. For the first time, the WSI has also quantitatively analysed the trade unions` industrial action objectives for 2025.

READ THE REPORT
FES Advertisement

“What is the actual purpose of the state?” – this central question is the focus of the analysis. At a time when bureaucratic processes are making life difficult for citizens, the paper proposes a three-part model. It aims at a conception of the state as a platform that helps society build the capabilities it needs to address its problems effectively.

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