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Top blog posts
- The Weaponization of Laïcité Against Muslims: Pushing More Towards Extremism
- The impact of the mass media on the quality of democracy within a state remains a much overlooked area of study
- The Quiet Collapse of the Italian Economy
- The Cultural Veil: Iran’s Weaponization of Culture to Oppress Women and Deflect Criticism
- The Catalan Crisis: Is There a Right to Self-Determination in the International Context?
- Drawing Citizenship: The European Elections through Cartoons and Comics
- Immigration, Welfare Chauvinism and the Support for Radical Right Parties in Europe
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Recent Posts
- The Cultural Veil: Iran’s Weaponization of Culture to Oppress Women and Deflect Criticism
- What does the fragmentation of the Bundestag mean for Germany?
- Vox, Covid-19, and populist discourses in Spain
- The EU has lost its touristic touch: Countries like Cyprus, Spain and Malta are trying to regain it
- The Weaponization of Laïcité Against Muslims: Pushing More Towards Extremism
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Author Archives: Jose Javier Olivas
Apr 5 2019
Back to the roots: Why the UK should have a second referendum
2 CommentsBy Kilian Wirthwein and Fabian Ferrari Fifteen years after the failure to adopt the European Constitution of 2004, the European political landscape has changed dramatically. Although this represented a major setback on the path of European integration, it would have been hard to find someone so … Continue reading
Posted by: April 5, 2019
Tagged with: Brexit, British politics, Democracy, EU referendum, Legitimation, political legitimacy
Dec 14 2015
Why Ciudadanos’ Albert Rivera is the candidate best placed to oust Mariano Rajoy as Spanish PM
1 CommentBy Jose Javier Olivas Spain will hold a general election on 20 December, with opinion polls indicating a tight contest between four parties for the largest share of the vote – the governing People’s Party (PP), who have a small … Continue reading
Posted by: December 14, 2015
Tagged with: Ciudadanos, elections, Podemos, PP, PSOE, Spain
Apr 1 2015
Ciudadanos: the ‘tortoise’ that may beat the ‘hare’ in the race for political reform in Spain
4 CommentsBy Jose Javier Olivas The emergence of Ciudadanos or Ciutadans (‘Citizens’ in Spanish and Catalan) as a credible alternative to the People’s Party (PP) and Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) is one of the most significant events in the Spanish … Continue reading
Posted by: April 1, 2015
Tagged with: Albert Rivera, Ciudadanos, Podemos, Spain, Spain elections, Spanish politics
Sep 11 2014
Is an independence referendum the appropriate political tool to address the Catalan problem?
6 CommentsBy Jose Javier Olivas The question whether Catalonia should be allowed to hold an independence referendum can be approached from different angles. In addition to important legal and procedural issues, the organisation of this referendum is highly problematic from both … Continue reading
Posted by: September 11, 2014
Tagged with: Catalan Independence, Catalonia, Nationalism, Referendum, secessionism, Spanish constitution
Sep 30 2013
The independence of Catalonia: jumping on a bandwagon
101 CommentsBy Jose Javier Olivas On 11 September 2013 hundreds of thousands of people formed a human chain to demand the secession of Catalonia from Spain. This well organised and largely peaceful display of patriotic fervour coincided with celebration of Catalonia’s … Continue reading
Posted by: September 30, 2013
Tagged with: anti-redistribution argument, Catalan Independence, Catalonia, excessive solidarity, Generalitat, nationalist propaganda
Jun 28 2013
Euroscepticism is rooted in a broader authoritarian worldview that also includes higher levels of nationalism and hostility to ‘outsiders’
3 CommentsBy Erik R. Tillman Since the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty two decades ago, proponents of European integration have faced a dilemma of sorts. Increasingly, public support is necessary for further integration as European issues become more salient in national … Continue reading
Posted by: June 28, 2013
Tagged with: Authoritarianism, constraining dissensus, European Union, Euroscepticism, permisive consensus, post-Maastricht
Jun 12 2013
The bumpy road to transparency in Spain
3 CommentsBy José Javier Olivas and Fabrizio Scrollini* The current Euro Crisis has unveiled many political and institutional deficiencies in Spain. Among them, the lack of transparency and free access to public information is one of the most serious. In modern democracies … Continue reading
Posted by: June 12, 2013
Tagged with: access to information, Accountability, information regulation, Ley de transparencia, Spanish civil-society, Transparency
Apr 7 2013
Selective truths and Spanish riches: The Bundesbank’s study on household wealth
29 CommentsBy Stefan Bauchowitz and José Javier Olivas* At the height of the Cyprus bailout crisis, the German Central Bank, the Bundesbank, has introduced into the public discourse the notion that Southern Europeans are richer than Germans. This claim is based on a study … Continue reading
Posted by: April 7, 2013
Tagged with: Bundesbank, Crisis, deception, finances, Household wealth, Public Sphere, Southern Europe
Apr 3 2013
Cyprus crisis: swan-song of the Eurozone
3 CommentsBy Vassilis Fouskas and Constantine Dimoulas* Harsh measures imposed on Cypriot political and financial authorities to address bank failures reveal, once again, that the entire architecture of the EU is in tatters. Professor Vassilis Fouskas and Dr Constantine Dimoulas contribute … Continue reading
Posted by: April 3, 2013
Tagged with: Civil Society, Conflict, Culture, Cyprus, Democracy, Economics, Equality, International politics
Apr 2 2013
Amor Fati? Europe Wounded after the Cyprus Imbroglio
1 CommentBy LSE IDEAS Blog, Dr Vassilis Paipais, and Dr Eirini Karamouzi For the past two weeks, we have been witnessing a fierce diplomatic game with Cyprus at the epicenter of a geopolitical vortex threatening European solidarity. The Cyprus case offered the ideal … Continue reading