Normalising fascism in the EU
Uproar followed comments by the Italian president of the European Parliament in qualified praise of Mussolini. They raise big questions about the direction of the European centre right.
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.
PiS attacks LGBT+ rights in Poland, as elections loom
Amid simmering social discontent and with the Catholic Church wracked by sex-abuse scandals, Poland’s clerical-nationalist party is exploiting homophobia to drive a wedge into the opposition.
Memory, myth and ‘post-truth’
In the era of 'post-truth', history isn't what it used to be—which makes solving the problems of the present so much more difficult.
Can data-labour unions break the monopoly capture of data?
Karin Pettersson begins a series of Social Europe columns by arguing it’s time to rethink ‘free’ data as the product of labour.
Restoring trust in Europe—wage rises and workplace democracy
Flatlining wages, denial of workplace voice and precarity are undermining trust in Europe—and assisting the siren calls of the populists.
Without solidarity, democracy is lost
If Europe’s democratic architecture is cracking, it is because its foundations are weakening. Solidarity is one of them.
Beyond identity politics and culture wars—a new universalism
We used to demand peace and love—now we demand no discrimination and no hate. Why did we lower our ambitions?
The apogee of capitalism and our political malaise
At the heart of the crisis of trust in politics lies the corrosion of public service by the ethos of private gain.
Macron and Kramp-Karrenbauer: vive la différence?
The proxy media exchange between the French president and the leader of the German Christian democrats is a sign of an emergent European public sphere.
I’m taking Friday off—permanently
It’s time to share evenly the benefits of automation. That's why trade unions are calling for a four-day week.
What are central banks for?
The eurozone remains mired in unemployment while the European Central Bank targets only inflation. Adam Tooze begins a series of Social Europe columns by explaining the hidden history of the Fed’s more successful dual mandate.
Women under austerity—a frontal attack
Women are disproportionately dependent on public services. They can’t afford austerity and it’s time that governments recognised this.
Siege of Sarajevo: perpetrators of deadly attacks remain unprosecuted
Twenty-seven years since the siege of Sarajevo began, a handful of commanders have been tried, but Bosnian prosecutors have not yet filed any indictments against direct perpetrators of sniping and shelling attacks on civilians.
Chief executives’ pay: reversing the race to the top
Eye-watering remuneration for chief executives is economically wasteful as well as socially divisive. Non-profits should pioneer compressed wage hierarchies.
Capitalism and democracy: what if we have it backwards?
It has become fashionable on the left to suggest that capitalism and democracy are now incompatible. In her latest column, Sheri Berman reviews the contrary case.
Could the dollar be in default?
The US has been able to run growing budget deficits by issuing more dollars as the reserve currency. If a polycentric world ends its indulgence, the shock to America could be great.
Whistleblowers directive still needs to change
An EU directive nearing completion would protect the whistleblowers at the heart of recent scandals—but only if they reported within their organisation first.