Democracy

Diversity is the buzzword of the 21st century. But when it comes down to the brass tacks of how the rights of persons with disabilities are actually implemented, the enthusiasm very quickly runs out.

A century on from the creation of Northern Ireland, its society is once again deeply divided about the need for, and implications of, a border being drawn around it. Local tensions reflect suspicion regarding the actions of London, as well as long-existing sensitivities and a profound sense of uncertainty about the future.

The Covid-19 vaccine rollout played a big part in the Conservatives’ success at the 2021 local elections, but the shrivelling of political debate in the UK and an appetite for big government also played a role.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Europe's economy, health systems and democracy is enormous. In terms of European policy, it will now be important to shape the economic construction in Europe in a socially and ecologically sustainable way. Municipalities are now seen as the new bearers of hope in this endeavour and initiatives at the local level are already making a difference in many areas and are seen as potential drivers of the socio-ecological transformation. The focus of this years’ Annual European Conference is thus put on the local dimension of the European Green Deal. 

The EU is undeniably crying out for fundamental reforms. The Conference on the Future of Europe, launching on 9 May 2021, is meant to create the first-ever genuine public space between European citizens of all Member States and enable encounters beyond national frameworks. Unlikely to deliver major reform plans, though, this platform still has the potential to provide important impulses to crucial issues for Europe’s future.

Systematic and systemic attacks on Gender Studies are part of anti-gender campaigns and online public harassment, associated with the anti-gender movement, a nationalist, neoconservative response to the triple crisis (migration, financial and security). These illiberal attacks are gaining much support all over Europe.

In the middle of the night on March 20, 2021, a presidential decree was published in the Official Gazette, announcing Turkey would withdraw from the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention.

Academic freedom is under attack, both in authoritarian democracies and in liberal Western democracies. Dominant discourses about academic freedom and free speech in the global north, lately especially in France and Germany, focus on an alleged threat to academic freedom through "political correctness" and "cancel culture", that, under scrutiny, often turn out to be exactly the opposite, namely defences of plurality and critical voices.

The Hungarian ruling Fidesz party’s delegation to the European Parliament announced on 3 March that they would leave the EPP parliamentary group after the latter approved changes to its internal rules, allowing the caucus to suspend or expel entire national delegations instead of individual MEPs only. Later, Fidesz left the EPP party family as well. It is, therefore, crucial to assess how the end of the Fidesz-EPP relationship will influence the Hungarian cabinet’s ability to represent national interests in the EU and the future of PM Orbán on the European political scene. In short: the decision constitutes a blow to Hungary, but not necessarily to Fidesz.

It’s a decade since democratic protests began in the Middle East and North Africa and still for many activists the fight against authoritarian regimes and in pursuit of dignity and political reform is far from over. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Three stories from Egypt, Syria and Tunisia illustrate how the revolutions in these countries are still a work in progress – in spite of violent repercussions and the all-round terrible toll they have taken.