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 […]
Right-wing populism is on the rise across the globe. The US, Brazil, India, Italy, Austria, Hungary and Poland have radical right-wing politicians as leaders or in government. Far right parties have also chalked up major electoral triumphs in countries like Sweden, France and Germany. And the UK’s vote to leave the EU was a decision encouraged, in part, by […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The 2019 European Parliament elections will be held on 23-26 May. Ahead of the elections, we will be previewing the contest in all 27 EU states (assuming the UK leaves in March). In the first article of the series, Bianca Toma and Alexandru Damian discuss the elections in Romania, which will offer an opportunity for reformist groups to put […]
The ‘gilets jaunes’ protest movement which began in France at the end of 2018 has become an outlet for French citizens to express their anger at rising costs of living. Alan Kirman writes that the movement is a reaction to measures that have hurt the poor while benefiting the wealthy and large firms.
At the end of the month of […]
The Polish left-wing politician Robert Biedroń is planning to launch a new political movement in February, ahead of parliamentary elections due to be held later this year. Aleks Szczerbiak explains that as Poland’s most popular and charismatic left-wing politician, Biedroń’s initiative stands a good chance of achieving short-term success. But the grouping’s longer-term prospects are much more questionable, and […]
Support for radical right parties is often assumed to carry a degree of social stigma, which means that individuals are likely to privately support them but refrain from stating such support to others. But does this hold true once a party enters a national parliament? Drawing on a new study, Vicente Valentim illustrates that once a radical right party […]
On 13 January, Paweł Adamowicz, the Mayor of Gdańsk, was fatally stabbed during a charity event. Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer writes that while the attacker reportedly had a history of mental illness, the reaction to the murder has uncovered deep political divisions that now exist in Polish society.
Paweł Adamowicz, the Mayor of Gdańsk, was fatally stabbed on Sunday while standing on […]
Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, is often accused of promoting a form of ‘illiberal democracy’, where governance is rooted in the popular support of a majority of the country’s citizens, but without a strong guarantee of minority rights and the rule of law. Lise Esther Herman argues that this criticism, which has been put forward by many of Orbán’s […]
Populist politicians frequently champion direct democracy, yet other actors view populists as a threat to the democratic system. Ben Margulies draws on the work of Karl Polanyi in attempting to resolve this contradiction. He explains that populists typically believe democracy should be a vehicle for the people’s will, but crucially the people may never have the chance to change […]
The gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movement in France currently has no affiliation with established political parties. As Anne Daguerre explains, this lack of a clear political platform has given rise to debates on the French left over whether the movement should be welcomed as a force for progressive politics or viewed with suspicion as an emanation of the populist […]
The ‘Yellow Vests’ protest movement which began in France at the end of 2018 has uncovered widespread anger among French citizens. But as Nicolas Duvoux and Adrien Papuchon explain, it is difficult to fully capture the scale of this resentment from an analysis of available poverty measures. Instead they suggest that an indicator of ‘subjective poverty’ is required to […]
In Council Democracy: Towards a Democratic Socialist Politics, editor James Muldoon brings together contributors to reopen discussion of councilist ideas and movements and to take the scholarship into new realms. While the chapters evidence the continuing tensions within the literature, this is a welcome and important contribution to the revival of this deeply emancipatory form of democratic socialism, writes Babak Amini.
Council Democracy: Towards a […]
Poland’s ruling party, Law and Justice, has based its appeal on claiming to offer socio-economic stability and prosperity while downplaying controversial issues to avoid mobilising its opponents. Aleks Szczerbiak writes that ahead of parliamentary elections later this year, the party retains a lead in the polls and is still viewed as more credible than the liberal-centrist opposition on the […]
To mark the end of 2018 we’ve compiled a list of our most read articles from the last year, measured by page views.
Immigration was a key topic in Italy’s election campaign, with several candidates arguing that the flow of people into the country during the migration crisis has increased the risk of crime. But has immigration really generated more crime […]
Electoral systems are key components in the operation of representative democracies that vary considerably in their construction, with important consequences for how democracy is implemented. Ron Johnston reviews The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems which provides valuable overviews of many of the important topics studied by electoral system scholars, though he wonders about the relative value of such large and expensive volumes aimed […]
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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 […]