Latest Blog Posts

A guest post by Jacob Christensen* in our series of blogging academics. Check out the rest of the series here and here.  If you are an academic (European studies, social science, humanities etc) with a blog and you would like to share your views about blogging and social media here –  please contact us via […]

By Simon McMahon The Arab Spring has defined contemporary world politics, and has been interpreted by many as a new beginning for societies in North Africa and the Middle East. It has also in many ways challenged the common perceptions of policy makers in Europe. But in Libya, Colonel Gaddafi continues to try and hold […]

Guest post by Anamaria Dutceac Segesten* “Publish or perish”: Academia has its own jungle law. To thrive (or even to survive, it feels like occasionally) one needs to produce texts and in this case I mean specifically texts as words (images, videos, audio presentations are not yet acceptable). Articles, book chapters, monographs, conference papers, working […]

By Pablo Calderon Martinez The international community was, once again, caught by surprise and overwhelmed by the speed and intensity of the events unfolding in one of the most volatile regions of the world. The much-maligned Bush “doctrine” claimed that, after a short war, Iraq would become a functional Western-like democracy, whose prosperity, freedom and […]

Guest post by Anamaria Dutceac Segesten* When I first told my undergraduate students that we will have a blog connected to the one of their first semester courses, they looked at me with incredulity. A blog? Why, a blog can have nothing to do with academia, right? Well, wrong, was my reply. I have written […]

By Simon McMahon The English Defence League (EDL) has over the last year been building an increasing amount of support across the UK, particularly in England. Formed in the town of Luton in 2009 as a response to Muslim protest groups’ criticism of British soldiers, the EDL is an organisation boasting thousands of members and […]

The Lisbon Treaty conference featured a lively round table discussion on the impact of different aspects of the Treaty. Following the conference we posed the question, "Is the Lisbon Treaty delivering on its promises?" to five conference participants.

The discussion at the Treaty of Lisbon Evaluated conference has seen a clear convergence of view that the provisions on external action have been of minimal impact to-date.  The most optimistic readings of its provisions are that it is too early to judge – the more pessimistic (and majority view) is little real substantive change. […]

By Simon McMahon The Euro is going through its greatest challenge, a fight for survival. The financial crisis and subsequent economic downturn have put the single currency under pressure as Greece, Ireland, Portugal and possibly Spain or Italy struggle to keep markets happy, confidence up and debt off their backs. However, despite the ease with […]

Who leads the European Union – or even “Europe”? A weighty question indeed – and thankfully not one that preoccupies only the members of this particular panel. Indeed, as well-regarded and experienced a figure as former MEP Richard Corbett has recently asked it again (Corbett, “Who Leads the European Union?” European Voice, January 6, 2011). […]