Europe’s Democracy and Political Economy

How increasing economic and political inequality and the ‘depoliticization’ of economic policymaking, through technocratic management insulated from national-level parliamentary scrutiny, have contributed to the crisis of democracy in Europe.

Culture and history create different ideas of what good democracy is, but comparisons in Europe still help improve the overall debate about potential reform.

Efforts to understand the rise of populist parties and movements in Europe need to take into account the diverse contexts in which anti-establishment protest has flourished.

The likely appointment of Draghi as Italian prime minister has been warmly welcomed, but maintaining the political support he needs is going to be a challenge.

Hopes that the pandemic would kill off populism in Europe were always optimistic, and the second wave is likely to definitively put an end to this idea.

EU’s heated budget negotiations risk producing a compromise at the expense of its longer-term international agenda.

The COVID-19 crisis could lead to a wider rethink of Europe’s political economy. This paper explores what such a model might look like, and what it would mean for the governance of the European Union.

The pandemic raises difficult questions about whether liberal democracies can adequately protect their citizens.

To the extent that perceptions of a crisis in liberal democracy in Europe can be confirmed, this paper investigates the nature of the problem and its causes.