Looking Into 2026: The Year That Could Be
A decade after Brexit and Donald Trump's first election to the US presidency, states are increasingly isolated from one another. Yet even without cause for optimism, one can – and must – muster hope.
Can the EU Still Escape the Authoritarian Pull of the USA?
Waning US leadership and China's new world order compel Europe to unite or face marginalization.
The EU’s Largest Investment Programme Holds Lessons We Cannot Afford to Ignore
The Next Generation EU programme, despite sluggish implementation and limited coverage, reveals how industrial policy can drive green transition—if governments act.
Europe’s Foreign Policy Is Broken by Design—Here’s How to Fix It
Kaja Kallas is not the problem; the EU's dysfunctional institutional architecture is crippling its global influence.
Germany’s Middle-Technology Trap: Industrial Policy Blindness and the Path Out
Germany's faith in free markets has left it squeezed between China and America — but a defence-spending loophole offers unexpected hope.
Industrial Policy 2.0: The Service Sector Path to Shared Prosperity
We must address climate change, inequality, and poverty simultaneously, but prevailing economic approaches are failing; solutions lie in an updated, experimental industrial policy focused on green and productive service job
Chile’s Democracy Faces Its Gravest Test Since Pinochet
A far-right candidate threatens to dismantle decades of democratic progress in Latin America's most celebrated success story.
Why European Universities Must Not Follow America’s
The American model has produced rentier capitalism and functional illiteracy—Europe's universities must return to their civilising mission.
The Digital Omnibus: Deregulation Dressed as Innovation
The EU's sweeping data and AI package loosens safeguards for workers while promising competitiveness gains that will flow mainly to US tech giants.
Poland Shows Hungary How Grassroots Democracy Can Defeat Authoritarian Drift
Civil society and local autonomy proved decisive in Poland's democratic revival—lessons Hungary must now learn.
Why Political Imagination Has Died—And How to Resurrect It
Margaret Thatcher's ghost haunts global politics as leaders worldwide embrace her "no alternative" mantra, leaving citizens trapped in a system that refuses to acknowledge its own ideology.
Uruguay’s Enduring State: From Century-Old Consensus to Twenty-First Century Trials
A nation built on public provision faces new tests as crime, inequality and demographic shifts challenge its foundational social contract.
The Algorithmic Workplace: How Platformisation Is Reshaping Work in Europe
New evidence reveals that data-driven management now shapes how millions work across Europe—with profound implications for autonomy and well-being.
Sir Keir Starmer Wants Growth—Perhaps He Should Learn Spanish
Spain's socialist government has delivered economic growth three times faster than Britain's; Labour would do well to study how.
The UK-EU Reset Needs Strategic Planning, Not Summit Improvisation
Without careful preparation and raised ambitions, the 2026 summit risks becoming a missed opportunity to inject real momentum into UK-EU relations.