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Safeguarding Global Stability: The EU’s Message to the World at the 80th UNGA

Safeguarding Global Stability: The EU’s Message to the World at the 80th UNGA

Amid rising global instability, EU foreign policy has sought to defend the current rules-based world order, which protects the security of its member states. At the 80th UN General Assembly, EU leaders attempted to advance this objective by advocating for three key political priorities: supporting Ukraine, advancing climate commitments, and strengthening UN institutions. However, internal divisions due to domestic political changes risk complicating the EU’s ability to achieve these priorities.

EuropeLauren UmlandDecember 11, 2025European Union, UN, 80th UNGA

Brexit Hangover: How Populism Continues to Shape Britain’s Politics and Foreign Policy

Brexit Hangover: How Populism Continues to Shape Britain’s Politics and Foreign Policy

Nearly ten years after Brexit, Britain’s political landscape remains defined by the unresolved tensions that referendum unleashed. Populist narratives around identity, immigration, and sovereignty continue to shape political debate, fueling voter disillusionment and empowering movements like Reform UK. As the party gains traction, the question is whether Britain can move beyond the impulses of the Brexit era before they come to define its political and global identity.

EuropeVaiden PollardDecember 11, 2025Brexit, Populism, United Kingdom, Reform UK, Immigration, Nigel Farage, Keir Starmer

Germany’s New Economic Era: How Berlin’s Fiscal Shift Could Redefine Europe

Germany’s New Economic Era: How Berlin’s Fiscal Shift Could Redefine Europe

Germany, a country rocked by runaway hyperinflation a century ago during the Weimar Republic, has clung to fiscal conservatism for decades, illustrated in its hesitancy and reluctance to bailouts during the EU debt crisis in the 2010s. Now, facing economic stagnation and growing defense demands, Berlin’s September 2025 reforms mark a turn toward large-scale investment in infrastructure and security, reshaping both its domestic identity and its role in Europe.

EuropeVaiden PollardNovember 12, 2025Germany, defense spending, debt-limit, fiscal conservatism, economics, austerity, strategic autonomy

The EU’s Plan for Ukraine: An Examination of the EU’s Current and Post-War Ukraine Strategy

The EU’s Plan for Ukraine: An Examination of the EU’s Current and Post-War Ukraine Strategy

The European Union has been a key contributor to Ukraine’s defense since the onset of the Russian invasion in 2022. Hoping to ensure Ukraine’s stability, the EU has developed a post-war plan to strengthen Ukraine’s economy and put it on the path towards EU accession. However, shifting geopolitical dynamics risk making the continued support and post-war stabilization of Ukraine more challenging.

EuropeLauren UmlandOctober 26, 2025War in Ukraine, European Union, Defense

Macron’s Challenge: Leading Europe While Losing France

Macron’s Challenge: Leading Europe While Losing France

In September 2025, France’s government collapsed yet again, a symptom of the political fragmentation that has hindered the country’s ability to make meaningful progress on addressing economic concerns. Meanwhile, in the arena of foreign policy, French President Emmanuel Macron has sought to cultivate an image of strength abroad, leading Europe’s response to U.S. tariffs and Russian aggression in Ukraine. For Macron, mounting domestic instability presents an existential challenge to his legitimacy as Europe’s chief statesman.

EuropeVaiden PollardOctober 6, 2025Emmanuel Macron, France, EU

Nuclear Family, Nuclear Laws: Cross-border Italian Surrogacy Ban sparks worry for LGBT families

Nuclear Family, Nuclear Laws: Cross-border Italian Surrogacy Ban sparks worry for LGBT families

On October 16, 2024 , the Italian government passed a cross-border surrogacy ban, criminalizing anyone who seeks to have a child through surrogate parents outside of the country. While officials have argued this prevents the exploitation of women, others have worried about the impact on LGBT families and their lack of options to legally start families.

EuropeBy Isabel ChambersApril 25, 2025Surrogacy, Italy, Meloni, LGBT, civil rights, LGBT rights, family

Between Brussels and Washington: Italy’s Sticky Spot between the EU and the U.S.

Between Brussels and Washington: Italy’s Sticky Spot between the EU and the U.S.

Rising as a stable leader within the European Union, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has fostered close ties with both EU and foreign leaders. With President Trump’s return to the White House, Meloni hopes to form the transatlantic bridge between the EU and the U.S. Yet with recent negotiations between the U.S. and Russia excluding the EU and Ukraine, Meloni has tough decisions to make regarding her alliances.

EuropeBy Isabel ChambersMarch 23, 2025Italy, Meloni, USA, Ukraine, Trump, EU, Tariffs

Austria in the 21st Century Oppenheimer Moment

Austria in the 21st Century Oppenheimer Moment

In modern warfare, a revolutionary and unsettling entity is emerging: Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). These sophisticated machines are capable of independently selecting and engaging targets without human intervention and have the potential to rewrite the rules of engagement and challenge our understanding of ethics, responsibility, and International Humanitarian Law.

EuropeBy Graham CummingsNovember 20, 2024warfare, arms control, United nations, austria, weapons

The Trump Effect: How a Second Term Could Supercharge Europe's Far-Right Surge

The Trump Effect: How a Second Term Could Supercharge Europe's Far-Right Surge

In the wake of both the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) and Donald Trump’s first election as U.S. President in 2016, far-right movements have experienced a surge of support in elections across Europe. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze how a potential second Trump administration could affect these movements, highlighting the cases of Italy, Germany, and France.

EuropeBy Luke GialanellaNovember 4, 2024U.S. elections, Europe, European politics, far-right, Germany, Italy, France, Macron, Meloni, AfD, Trump

The New French Revolution: A Struggle Against Macron and the Looming Far-Right

The New French Revolution: A Struggle Against Macron and the Looming Far-Right

In the beginning of 2023, over a million people took to the streets to fight President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform bill. This bill, which increased the retirement age to 64, prompted union strikes and rioting all over France. With Macron’s centrist consensus collapsing, Marine Le Pen has fully capitalized on anti-immigrant scapegoating for votes. In response, leftist leaders have joined forces under a coalition called the New Popular Front (NFP), vowing to protect pensions and other social services. The NFP won the most seats in the 2024 legislative elections shortly after the party’s creation. Macron’s refusal to appoint a left-wing prime minister in spite of these results, highlights the desperation of France’s ruling class.

EuropeBy Josh EmokpaeOctober 27, 2024populism, macron, le pen, france, immigration, retirement, protests, austerity, liberal, progressive

Giorgia Meloni is Offshoring Migration to Solve Italy’s Immigration Concerns; Now the Rest of Europe is Interested Too

Giorgia Meloni is Offshoring Migration to Solve Italy’s Immigration Concerns; Now the Rest of Europe is Interested Too

Italy has been at the forefront of the European migration crisis due to its immense Mediterranean coastline. With the election of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in 2022, anti-immigration discourse has increased, emphasizing the difficulty of dealing with the issue. As migrants overwhelm processing centers and smaller communities throughout the country, Meloni structured a deal with Albania to ease pressure on Italian social systems. Inspired, the EU has begun to consider similar projects outside the Union.

EuropeBy Isabel ChambersOctober 27, 2024Italy, immigration, Albania, Meloni, European Union, migration, Ursula von der Leyen, Tunisia, Libya, migrants, immigrants

Echoes of the Past: the AfD’s “Historic Success” in Germany

Echoes of the Past: the AfD’s “Historic Success” in Germany

For the first time in post-World War II Germany, a far-right political party has won a state election. The openly extremist right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) achieved a “historic success” in the eastern state of Thuringia on September 1. This victory serves as a grim reminder of the first Nazi state election win in 1930, which also occurred in Thuringia.

EuropeBy Sarah BoresOctober 8, 2024Germany, EU, Immigration, Right-Wing, Extremism, Nazism, Populism

Austria’s Communist Party: Fighting Fascism At The Local Level

Austria’s Communist Party: Fighting Fascism At The Local Level

From 1918-1934, Austria’s largest city underwent a Marxist-led economic transformation known as Red Vienna. Funded by exuberant taxes on the wealthy, the Social Democratic Workers’ Party (SDAPÖ - a precursor to SPÖ) built 65,000 publicly rented apartments throughout the city with nearby state amenities. Although Nazi occupation ended Vienna’s novel socialist experiment, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) is continuing to advocate for the working class today. This small anti-capitalist movement poses a direct threat to Austria’s entrenched political elite and growing populist right.

EuropeBy Josh EmokpaeMay 13, 2024elections, communist, Austria, housing, urban, populism

Uprooting the Mafia: Italy Expands a Controversial Approach to Combat Organized Crime

Uprooting the Mafia: Italy Expands a Controversial Approach to Combat Organized Crime

In 2012, Italy's Ministry of Justice, namely the Department of Juvenile and Community Justice, launched the Free To Choose program in Calabria. The project sought to remove children from their mafia families and place them in foster care programs, to break the cycle of criminal behavior between generations. Once authorities can prove to a court that the child is in danger due to their circumstances, they can forcefully remove the child from their parents' custody and place them in foster care.

EuropeBy Luke GialanellaMay 11, 2024Italy, mafia, Naples, Sicilian mafia, foster care, organized crime

Anti-Semitism in Greater Scandinavia since October 7th

Anti-Semitism in Greater Scandinavia since October 7th

“There has been a troubling resurgence of antisemitic attitudes across Europe, especially in the Scandinavian countries. Given Scandinavia’s, and the continent as a whole, complex and painful history with its Jewish communities, the latest developments in the Middle East have sparked a wave of hostility in various areas.”

EuropeBy Luke GialanellaApril 16, 2024antisemitism, scandinavia, october, sweden, norway, denmark

The Striking Teachers Of Portugal

The Striking Teachers Of Portugal

Resistance has been a crucial part of Portuguese politics since the days of the Estado Novo dictatorship. College campuses and city plazas became the voice for public discontent amidst state suppression, acting as a catalyst for democratic reform and wealth redistribution. Decades after the 1974 Carnation Revolution ended this brutal regime in a leftist coup d’etat, many continued to protest the government regularly. Recent economic instability has brought Portugal to its knees on several occasions. Throughout this time, teachers have been the most vocal advocates for change.

EuropeBy Josh EmokpaeMarch 27, 2024education, Portugal, cost-of-living crisis, strikes, union, austerity

The European Green Deal: Road to Sustainability?

The European Green Deal: Road to Sustainability?

What differentiates the EGD from other global zero-emission attempts such as the Kyoto Protocol, the Rio Conference, or the Montreal Protocol is its dedication to promoting a long-term growth strategy that tackles the irreversible impacts of climate change within the EU. The EGD’s climate oriented policy goals includes building a climate-resilient society through the use of databases that strengthen access to climate resources and knowledge on climate change.

EuropeBy Deniz OrayMarch 7, 2024environment, Climate Change, green new deal, European Union

Comeback Corbyn

Comeback Corbyn

On February 27th 1900, Labour was launched as an official political party for Britain’s urban poor. At the time, the party maintained strong ties to the burgeoning unionist movement and helped broadly expand the welfare state while in power during the 1940s and 60s. Despite this earlier success, Tony Blair’s “New Labour” fully embraced the cult of neoliberalism at the expense of the working-class. In the face of encroaching corporate influence, Jeremy Corbyn remains the last major steward for Labour’s proletarian tradition.

EuropeBy Josh EmokpaeFebruary 23, 2024Jeremy Corbyn, Labour, Tories, Socialism, Britain, Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak

Can You Keir The Music? Keir Starmer’s Path to Victory in the Next General Election in the United Kingdom

Can You Keir The Music? Keir Starmer’s Path to Victory in the Next General Election in the United Kingdom

Starmer's pragmatic approach, focusing on economic recovery and social justice, seems to strike the right chord with voters disillusioned with the Conservative government's handling of various crises.

EuropeBy Luke GialanellaFebruary 23, 2024United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, Labour, Brexit

Spain’s Podemos: Populism Done Left

Spain’s Podemos: Populism Done Left

“Turn Indignation Into Political Change”- the title of a Spanish anti-government manifesto published in 2014 by a group of college professors and media personalities. In it, these outsiders challenge the legitimacy of the country’s two-party regime and call for the creation of something new: Podemos. This subversive platform would work to protect the welfare state and push for housing decommodification, female liberation, and several other progressive initiatives.

EuropeBy Josh EmokpaeJanuary 15, 2024spain, government, podemos