Leveraging the EU Single Market to escape the Trump Trap
Sabine Stephan and Sebastian Dullien
Twenty-one of 27 member states saw their exports fall under Trump’s tariffs; the EU’s strongest lever is its own single market.
Politics
Analysis and debate on European and national politics, democracy, the rule of law, parties and elections, and Europe’s place in the world.
The Right’s Pragmatism Is Just Another Ideology in Disguise
Conservatives who deride “isms” are not transcending ideology — they are smuggling theirs in unexamined.
Austerity Erodes The Governments That Impose It
Philipp Heimberger and Anna Matzner
Austerity packages reduce approval, drive protests, and raise the odds of a government crisis — especially in downturns.
A Post-American Europe Must Build Its Own Power
As Washington turns transactional and Beijing rises, Europe must convert its economic weight into genuine strategic power.
Sociology Is Surrendering Its Public Voice to Philosophy
As modernity falters, sociology cannot diagnose the society it once helped define — and philosophy has taken its place.
No Procedure Can Manufacture a European Demos
Across federalist, fiscal and deliberative proposals, Europe’s reformers keep deferring the one question integration cannot bypass.
Targeted Infrastructure Spending Slows AfD Gains In Germany’s Industrial Heartlands
Vincent Heddesheimer, Hanno Hilbig, Daniel Posch and Jens Südekum
Targeted infrastructure spending dampens AfD vote growth in Germany’s transition-pressured regions, but innovation funding still bypasses them.
The Forty-Year Gap Between Europe’s Equality Law And Its Practice
European law forces 40 per cent gender balance on listed boardrooms but exempts the cabinets that actually wield public power.
Deregulation Will Make Europe Poorer, Not Stronger
Nicolas Schmit, László Andor and Anna Diamantopoulou
Three former European Commissioners warn that scrapping social protections in pursuit of competitiveness will leave the Union weaker, not stronger.
Declining Dollar Dominance: Potential Euro Gains
Silke Tober and Thomas Theobald
Without large-scale joint debt and deeper safe-asset markets, the euro cannot capitalise on Trump’s assault on dollar credibility.
May 8 Belongs in the Calendar of Every European Democracy
Ellen de Soete and Ludovic Voet
As eyewitnesses fade and the far right reframes liberation as defeat, EU institutions must answer with policy.
Madrid Has the Cure for Trump-Era Energy Shocks
Spain’s heretical VAT cut tames inflation—a model for Europe as Trump’s tariffs and Middle East shocks bite.
AI Productivity Growth Won’t Match the Computer Revolution
AI Productivity growth will underwhelm, not because the technology is weak, but because it creates a bottleneck that earlier digital tools largely avoided.
MAGA Forges Christianity Into a Weapon of War
From Hegseth’s crusader tattoos to Thiel’s apocalyptic sermons, MAGA is fusing Christianity with raw political power.
Hungary After Orbán: Why Tisza’s “New Hungary” May Leave Workers Behind
Hungary’s new government promises to restore rule of law — but not labour rights.
Europe’s Migration Promises Are Building A Dangerous Expectation Trap
Arjen Leerkes, Maurizio Ambrosini and Sandra Lavenex
Stricter return rules and border procedures sell reassurance to voters, but the evidence suggests Europe cannot deliver what politicians promise.