Mugnai, Iacopo, (2016), “Renzi’s referendum defeat is part of the legitimacy crisis plaguing left wing parties in Europe”, LSE EUROPP blog, 12 December The rejection of Matteo Renzi’s constitutional reform occurred in the context of a highly personalised referendum, hinting at a wider rebuff of his policies. Iacopo Mugnai argues that the outcome of the referendum was not a victory for the populists, but a defeat of an electoral machine without …Read More

Fischer, Joschka, (2016), “How Much Europe Do Europeans Need?”, Project Syndicate, 2 November In his final address to the European Parliament in 1995, then-French President François Mitterrand, whose failing health was evident to all, found the following indelible words to characterize Europe’s great scourge: “Le nationalisme, c’est la guerre!” Nationalism and war were the defining experiences of Mitterrand’s political career, and he was referring not only to the dreadful past …Read More

Derviş, Kemal, (2016), “A Progressive Political Alliance for Europe”, Project Syndicate, 20 October In less than three weeks, we will know who will be the next president of the United States. What kind of partner that president finds in Europe will depend substantially on the outcome of two elections in 2017: France’s presidential election in early May and Germany’s federal election by the end of October. Of course, the United Kingdom’s …Read More

Häge, Frank, (2016), “Data on political attention in the Council illustrates the EU’s failure to proactively address major crises”, LSE Europpblog, 29 August When government ministers meet in the Council of the European Union, what determines the level of attention they direct toward particular policy areas and issues? Based on recent research, Frank Häge illustrates how the Council has focused on different policy areas over time. He writes that one of …Read More

Blockmans, Steven, (2016), “Future of the EU27: What to expect from this summer’s period of reflection”, Centre for European Policy Studies, 18 July As the UK’s brutal political fallout of Brexit continues to astound the world, leaders in the other member states are wrestling with the EU’s new reality. They deemed it too early to draw conclusions at the June European Council. Instead, the heads of state and government declared a …Read More

Hix, Simon, (2016), “Is the EU really run by unelected bureaucrats?”, LSE Europpblog, June Much of the UK’s referendum debate has focused on the extent to which EU decision-making is democratic, with the European Commission a source of particular criticism from leave campaigners on the basis that it is unelected. Simon Hix writes that while there are legitimate problems with the EU’s system of democracy, there is little to justify the …Read More

Vivien Schmidt, (2016), “Missing Topic In #EUref: Neo-Liberalism Gone Too Far”, Social Europe, 22 June As the referendum campaign nears its end, one central issue is remarkable for its absence, despite the fact that it has been a major contributor to the anger that lends support to the Brexit camp:  neo-liberalism.  The revolt against the political parties, the rejection of the experts, the distrust of the elites more generally: all …Read More

Thomas Fricke, (2016), “A New Economic Paradigm To Fight Populism”, Social Europe, 21 June If the polls tell the truth, 86 percent of the Austrian blue-collar workers voted for the right-wing populist Norbert Hofer in the Austrian presidential elections in May. In the presidential elections in France Marine Le Pen would have reached the final round already back in 2012, had it been up to the blue-collar workers. In the …Read More

Merritt, Giles, (2016), “Europe’s Wake-Up Call”, Project Syndicate, 20 June There’s a silver lining to the dark clouds of populist Euroskepticism crowding in on the European Union. In Brussels and a number of Europe’s capitals, leaders know that the EU must respond to mounting discontent, and that – at long last – there is political capital to be gained in doing so. Relevant Posts Balfour, Rosa, Emmanouilidis, Janis A., Fieschi, Catherine, et al., (2016), “EUROPE’S TROUBLEMAKERS …Read More