Understanding The SPD’s Grand Coalition Dilemma
Observers of German politics are witnessing a rather puzzling drama. More than four months after the election there is still no new government and the
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.
Italy: Heading Towards A Badly Hung Parliament?
The Italian parliamentary elections on March 4 are expected to yield no easy results, as no single party is likely to be able to form
Jarosław Kaczyński’s Jewish Question
The Polish government has provoked yet another international crisis, this time by adopting a law that is ostensibly meant to combat the phrase “Polish death
The Crisis Of (Nordic) Social Democracy
The once-dominant role and current crisis of social democracy in much of Europe in the last century can hardly be understood without analysing the shift
Time To Share The Benefits Of Germany’s Economic Prosperity
The German economy is flourishing, with growth expanding throughout 2017. Unemployment, at under 4 per cent, has never been lower since German reunification in 1990
How Eastern European Populism Is Different
In 2016, the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s election to the US presidency created an impression that Eastern European-style populism was engulfing the
The Hungarian Ruse
Two and a half months before the Hungarian parliamentary elections, the majority of foreign observers have presumptively called the outcome: the ruling party Fidesz will
History, Tax Cuts And Trump
A new wave of rising populism has affected and troubled many industrialized countries in Europe as well as the US. It is not a new
The Big Idea For Liberals
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, liberalism has been the “only game in town” across the whole of Europe. This is no longer the
Blaming Immigrants For Economic Troubles
Immigration has always been a prominent issue in American politics. It has become even more salient with the presidency of Donald Trump. A major debate
Europe’s Ageing Societies Need Immigration – And That Means Anti-Immigration Politics Is Here To Stay
The era after WWII was mostly devoid of populist party influence. Instead, Europe was on the mend, and integration at the forefront of European if not global
The Populist Hoax – Getting The Far Right and Post-Fascism Wrong
During my latest stay in the UK, I met some of my friends, who, surprisingly, told me that they felt the pro-Brexit campaign was very
The Future Of Europe – A Space For The Social Policy Avant-Garde
On March 1 2017, the European Commission set out a White Paper on the Future of Europe. There was none of the fierce debate that
Retooling Social Europe Via Charters Of Rights
The European Union’s fundamental goal, projected in the Lisbon Treaty, was to create a “social market economy” with a clear commitment to full employment, social
Davos Of The Many For The Few
It is easy to dismiss Davos as nothing more than a talkfest among greedy CEOs, cheerful philanthropists and photogenic celebrity activists. Yet this narrative –
European Social Democracy Extinct?
“In a constitutional state, the true ruler is the voter”, go the words of Ferdinand Lassalle, the champion of workers and intellectual force behind European
Where Do We Stand With “More And Better” Jobs In Europe?
The European Union has gone a long way since the Lisbon Strategy of 2000 with its “more and better jobs” objective. In parallel with the