current-affairs

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Lost in transmission: Why few interest groups have the capacity to properly link citizens with EU policymakers

Lost in transmission: Why few interest groups have the capacity to properly link citizens with EU policymakers

Interest groups can potentially help alleviate the EU’s democratic deficit by acting as a ‘transmission belt’ between citizens and EU policymakers. However, as Adrià Albareda demonstrates, many of the interest groups active at the EU level lack the organisational capacity and member involvement to perform this function in practice.

The European Union has a long standing democratic deficit problem due […]

February 22nd, 2019|Adrià Albareda, current-affairs, featured|0 Comments|

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How Brexit affects Italy – and its Eurosceptic politicians

How Brexit affects Italy – and its Eurosceptic politicians

How will Brexit affect Italy’s businesses, its citizens and its political landscape? Elisabeth Alber explains that while the country now has an avowedly Eurosceptic government, Italians have mixed feelings towards the EU. It is unclear how many Italians have been living in the UK, but Italy’s hopes of attracting them back seem to have been fruitless.

Brexit will undoubtedly affect the EU’s Member […]

February 21st, 2019|current-affairs, Elisabeth Alber, featured|0 Comments|

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Rethinking refugee support: Responding to the crisis in South Eastern Europe

Rethinking refugee support: Responding to the crisis in South Eastern Europe

The migration crisis that began in 2015 has had a major impact on countries in South Eastern Europe. Outlining findings and recommendations from a new project, Amanda Russell Beattie, Gemma Bird, Jelena Obradovic-Wochnik and Patrycja Rozbicka explain that the EU’s response to the crisis has resulted in the outsourcing of refugee settlement and care to states such as Serbia, […]

February 20th, 2019|Amanda Russell Beattie, current-affairs, featured, Gemma Bird, Jelena Obradovic-Wochnik, Patrycja Rozbicka|0 Comments|

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Will transatlantic relations break down over Iran?

Will transatlantic relations break down over Iran?

Tensions have grown in recent months between the EU and the United States over Iran, which was underlined at a US-backed conference on the Middle East in Poland last week that was largely sidestepped by many European governments. Cornelius Adebahr writes that the EU is right to take a more comprehensive approach to the region and resist attempts to […]

February 19th, 2019|Cornelius Adebahr, current-affairs, featured|1 Comment|

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The euro crisis showed the limits of using market integration and free trade as vehicles for development

The euro crisis showed the limits of using market integration and free trade as vehicles for development

The crisis that hit members of the Eurozone a decade ago has often been attributed to design flaws in Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union. Drawing on a new study, Andreas Bieler, Jamie Jordan and Adam David Morton argue that this focus neglects the deeper issues that lie at the heart of European economies. Rather than simply reflecting the flawed […]

February 18th, 2019|Adam David Morton, Andreas Bieler, current-affairs, featured, Jamie Jordan|0 Comments|

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Why the EU-Japan trade deal matters for Brexit

Why the EU-Japan trade deal matters for Brexit

The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement entered into force at the start of this month, but it is unclear whether the UK can retain the benefits of the agreement after it leaves the EU. Han Dorussen writes that the UK risks being excluded from what Brexiteers want: a free trade area ‘beyond Europe’ and greater ‘global influence’.

On February 1st, the EU-Japan […]

February 16th, 2019|Brexit, current-affairs, featured|0 Comments|

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Two months of protests in Serbia – what’s next?

Two months of protests in Serbia – what’s next?

Since the end of 2018, anti-government protests have been held across Serbia. Maja Bjeloš explains the background to the protests, which have demanded an end to government pressure on the media, stronger protection for journalists and political opponents against violence, investigations into alleged political killings, and electoral reforms.

The President of Serbia and the country’s ruling Progressive Party (SNS), Aleksandar […]

February 15th, 2019|current-affairs, Elections, party politics and government across Europe, featured, Maja Bjeloš|0 Comments|

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Topic-modelling the 2019 European Parliament elections: The long awaited battle over the ‘soul of Europe’?

Topic-modelling the 2019 European Parliament elections: The long awaited battle over the ‘soul of Europe’?

The campaign for the next European Parliament elections in May is now entering full swing. Miriam Sorace presents a detailed analysis of the platforms of the main European Party Groups ahead of the vote and assesses what the political consequences of the election might be for the EU over the next five years.

In his speech at the December […]

February 14th, 2019|current-affairs, Elections, party politics and government across Europe, featured, LSE Comment, Miriam Sorace|0 Comments|

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France-Italy: Behind the crisis lies a deeper rift over Europe

France-Italy: Behind the crisis lies a deeper rift over Europe

A diplomatic row has developed between France and Italy over recent months, with tensions being raised significantly by the decision of Luigi Di Maio, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Five Star Movement, to meet with representatives of the French ‘Gilets Jaunes’ protest movement. Simon Toubeau explains that at the heart of the conflict lie two radically […]

February 13th, 2019|current-affairs, EU Politics, featured, Simon Toubeau|0 Comments|

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Why has Corbyn remained so ambivalent about Brexit?

Why has Corbyn remained so ambivalent about Brexit?

Jeremy Corbyn and Labour could potentially play a crucial role in determining how the UK’s Brexit process will develop in the runup to 29 March. But as Graham Room writes, having sat on the fence for so long, Corbyn must be feeling uncomfortable. Unless he moves swiftly to shift the impasse at Westminster he will be consigned to political […]

February 12th, 2019|Brexit, current-affairs, featured, Graham Room|0 Comments|

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The European state has become a modern Leviathan

The European state has become a modern Leviathan

The management of the EU budget and the role of the European Commission in the EU policy process have been key topics in debates over European integration in recent decades. César Baena and Michael Neubert argue that the growth in EU bureaucracy that has occurred during the integration process raises questions about how taxpayers’ money is being spent. But […]

February 11th, 2019|César Baena, current-affairs, Elections, party politics and government across Europe, featured, LSE Comment, Michael Neubert|0 Comments|

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Why is the EU unable to adopt a binding solidarity mechanism for the distribution of asylum seekers?

Why is the EU unable to adopt a binding solidarity mechanism for the distribution of asylum seekers?

Under the so called ‘Dublin Regulation’, asylum seekers are usually deemed to be the responsibility of the country where they first entered the EU. But following the migration crisis that began in 2015, there have been efforts to reform this system given it places greater strain on countries such as Italy and Greece, who faced large inflows due to […]

February 8th, 2019|current-affairs, EU Foreign Affairs, EU foreign affairs (including defence, development aid and trade) and the European neighbourhood, featured, LSE Comment, Natascha Zaun|0 Comments|

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How electoral systems affect support for populist parties in Europe

How electoral systems affect support for populist parties in Europe

Several radical right and radical left parties in Europe have seen their support increase in recent years. But how do electoral systems affect the potential for such parties to attract voters? James Downes and Edward Chan explain that while there is an assumption the radical right and left will benefit from proportional representation systems, the reality is somewhat more […]

February 7th, 2019|current-affairs, Edward Chan, Elections, party politics and government across Europe, featured, James F Downes, LSE Comment|0 Comments|

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Who is to blame for Italy’s recession?

Who is to blame for Italy’s recession?

The Italian economy entered a recession at the end of last year, but as Adriano Cozzolino writes, there is little agreement over whether the current government, which entered office following the 2018 Italian election, should be held responsible for the economic situation. He argues that the country’s frailties stem from the systemic failures of a political economy model built […]

February 6th, 2019|Adriano Cozzolino, current-affairs, Elections, party politics and government across Europe, featured|1 Comment|

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No-deal Brexit nears as May creates temporary illusion of party unity

No-deal Brexit nears as May creates temporary illusion of party unity

Recent votes in the UK Parliament prove that it is no more capable of agreeing where to go next on Brexit than the cabinet. As Theresa May creates the temporary illusion of party unity, a no-deal Brexit grows ever closer, writes John Ryan. However, the political fallout associated with the economic hit of No Deal – or any form of harder Brexit […]

February 6th, 2019|Brexit, current-affairs, featured, John Ryan, LSE Comment|4 Comments|

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The ideal Greek everyman: Andreas Papandreou at 100

The ideal Greek everyman: Andreas Papandreou at 100

Former Greek prime minister Andreas Papandreou is widely regarded as a key figure not only in contemporary Greek history, but in 20th century European politics. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, George Kassimeris writes on the legacy of an ideal Greek everyman whose years in power were touched with national pride, but who in the end failed to […]

February 5th, 2019|current-affairs, Elections, party politics and government across Europe, featured, George Kassimeris|2 Comments|

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The EU as an evolving compromise between French dirigism and German ordoliberalism

The EU as an evolving compromise between French dirigism and German ordoliberalism

France and Germany are often credited with being the key driving forces behind European integration. However, as Laurent Warlouzet explains, both states have approached the integration process from distinct ideological standpoints, with French dirigism and German ordoliberalism lying at opposite ends of the economic policy spectrum. In an EU without the UK, this clash will continue to be a […]

February 4th, 2019|current-affairs, featured, Latest Research, Laurent Warlouzet, LSE Comment|0 Comments|

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Austerity politics, global neoliberalism, and the official discourse within the IMF

Austerity politics, global neoliberalism, and the official discourse within the IMF

Is austerity a ‘dream come true’ for neoliberals, or did the global financial crisis force policymakers to question neoliberalism’s core principles and change direction? Focusing on speeches by members of the International Monetary Fund, Kevin Farnsworth and Zoë Irving find little to suggest that the fundamental assumptions of neoliberalism have been displaced.

It is now over ten years since the […]

February 1st, 2019|current-affairs, EU Foreign Affairs, EU foreign affairs (including defence, development aid and trade) and the European neighbourhood, featured, Kevin Farnsworth, Zoë Irving|0 Comments|

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Why the European Parliament’s campaign to increase voter turnout could do more harm than good

Why the European Parliament’s campaign to increase voter turnout could do more harm than good

Ahead of the 2019 European elections in May, the European Parliament has launched a campaign to increase voter turnout. Nils Napierala argues that while this is clearly needed given the low turnout at the last elections in 2014, the campaign runs the risk of fuelling Eurosceptic sentiments by focusing too much on the EU’s successes and not on the […]

January 31st, 2019|current-affairs, EU Politics, EUvotes2019, featured, Nils Napierala|1 Comment|

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What the ratification of the Prespa Agreement means for Greek politics

What the ratification of the Prespa Agreement means for Greek politics

The Prespa Agreement resolving the long-running Macedonia name dispute between Athens and Skopje was ratified in the Greek parliament on 25 January. Nikolaos Tzifakis explains that with a majority of Greek citizens opposed to the agreement, the issue stands to have a significant impact on the Greek parliamentary elections due to be held later this year.

On 25 January, the Greek […]

January 30th, 2019|current-affairs, Elections, party politics and government across Europe, featured, Nikolaos Tzifakis|2 Comments|

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