Moldova's presidential election has been declared for Maia Sandu, who unseated incumbent Igor Dodon in a historic victory. Against a backdrop of longstanding geopolitical tension, the election has …
A Game of Tug of War Over Democracy
The European Union is failing to maintain democracy in their member states. Not only are they failing to threaten these countries into cooperating, they may also be creating an environment …
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Lessons Learned in Brussels: What Hungary’s Democratic Erosion Tells Us About the European Union’s Leverage
Incentives are everything. Since its founding in 1993, the European Union (EU) has understood this and become a master of soft power pressure and incentive-based democratic reforms. Indeed, as much as …
Four Key Takeaways from Poland’s Recent Presidential Election
While the COVID-19 pandemic has stalled out many aspects of life, including elections for over sixty countries, dozens of others such as Poland have forged ahead with elections. This past July, Polish …
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Refugee Crisis in Greek Island Lesbos
As Turkish government recently opened its western borders to the European Union for the refugees and migrants, Greece keeps its borders closed shut, putting aside the asylum system, claiming to deport …
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Italy, the Pandemic and the European Response: A Warning to Liberal Democracy
The coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the globe, has affected many countries, but there are not many of them as affected as Italy has been. To this date (23.05.2020) Italy has seen over 225,000 …
The Prespa Agreement: A New Hope for Macedonian Democracy?
In June 2018, an important agreement was reached between Macedonia and Greece, solving the legal name dispute between the two neighbors. As a consequence of the agreement, Macedonia acknowledged …
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The Importance of Poland’s 2020 Election in Curtailing the Threat of Poland’s Populist Law and Justice Party to Democracy in Europe
After the fall of communism in 1989, Poland elected its first non-Communist prime minister since the early post-war years. However, some politicians still seemed to have communist ties. To counter …