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Society

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 societal issues, offering a rich resource for innovative thinking and informed debate.

The Enduring Appeal of the Hybrid Workplace

Jorge Cabrita

For some workers, the future of work is not fully remote, nor fully in the office. It is, increasingly, a clever combination of both.

Trump’s Attacks on Academia: Is the U.S. University System Itself to Blame?

Bo Rothstein

Amid Donald Trump's hostility towards universities the question remains: how did the US leading scholars lose trust?

Shaping the Future of Digital Work: A Bold Proposal for Platform Worker Rights

Valerio De Stefano

A new draft convention proposes to establish a comprehensive rights and protections for platform workers globally.

“The Universities Are the Enemy”: Why Europe Must Act Now

Bartosz Rydlinski

The EU should welcome US scholars fleeing Trump’s assault on academia—and lead in global innovation and freedom.

How the Billionaire Boom Is Fueling Inequality—and Threatening Democracy

Fernanda Balata and Sebastian Mang

As wealth concentrates at the top, Europe must act now to defend democracy and economic stability for all.

How Europe’s Political Parties Abandoned Openness—and Left Populism to Fill the Void

Colin Crouch

Western parties stopped defending openness decades ago—now populists dominate a fight no one else dares to enter.

The Rise and (Likely) Fall of Wokeness

Vivek Chibber

Woke culture emerged from elite shifts in identity politics, abandoning the economic roots of social justice.

The False Economy of Cutting Disability Benefits

Kate Pickett

Financial insecurity destroys lives. Slashing disability benefits isn’t reform—it’s cruelty disguised as cost-saving.

Trump’s Policies Are Making Europe the New Education Superpower

Polly Toynbee

As America’s global appeal diminishes amid domestic turmoil, Europe emerges as a beacon of stability and cultural leadership.

The Reactionary Revolution: How a New Conservatism Rejects the Old Order

Justus Seuferle

A new breed of conservative has emerged, one that paradoxically seeks radical change by yearning for a mythologised past.

Calling Time on 24/7 Work Connectivity

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

The rapid development of new technologies is increasing pressure and forcing unlimited working time and growing stress among many workers across Europe. 

Human Rights on the Edge

Nicholas Bequelin

Can human rights survive the decline of global Western hegemony?

World Cancer Day: An Appeal to End Inequalities in Cancer Prevention and Care

Wendy Yared

Inequalities in cancer prevention and care remain a glaring issue.

Reaching Net Zero Might Fail—And It’s Not Because Renewables Are Too Expensive

Jayati Ghosh

Solar and wind are now cheaper than fossil fuels, but...

How Inequality Fuels the Cosmetic Surgery Boom

Kate Pickett

Rising inequality drives a global surge in cosmetic procedures.

Europe’s education gamble: Can the EU compete in a changing world?

Jo Ritzen and Job Zomerplaag

Can Europe’s education and skills agenda tackle declining outcomes and innovation gaps to ensure competitiveness and cohesion?

Fifty years supporting better policies for a strong social Europe

Ivailo Kalfin

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

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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
Eurofound Advertisement

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.

LISTEN HERE
FEPS Advertisement

Read the book "The open future and its enemies" 

A robust democracy must not leave the future in the hands of the alliance between Big Tech and the far right. AI must be politically reined in and democratically shaped so that humanity retains its sovereignty.

Artificial intelligence is regarded as the driving force of progress. Yet it has long since become a challenge to democracy. The book argues that uncontrolled AI will erode our freedom, self-determination and democracy.

READ THE BOOK
Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2026

Minimum wage policy across Europe has shifted significantly, with many EU countries raising wages above average and anchoring them to adequate living standards. This trend is consolidating as countries increasingly adopt the reference values recommended in the European Minimum Wage Directive — recently upheld by the European Court of Justice.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT
S&D Group in the European Parliament Advertisement

S&D Africa Days 2026

We are pleased to invite you to save the date for the S&D Africa Days 2026, taking place on 30 June and 1 July 2026, in Brussels. 

At a time when Africa is too often viewed through narrow and one-sided narratives, this initiative reflects a key political priority for the S&D Group: to advance a renewed, forward-looking partnership of equals between Europe and Africa based on equality, solidarity, social justice and shared progress. 

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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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