UCL European Institute

Very proud of this piece with @tommasopavone.bsky.social, now out at JOP, where we use the empirical setting of Slovakia - an eroding democracy with a recent experience of backsliding - to gauge the potential of the past to affect present-day attitudes: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

Czechia: Andrej Babiš´s populist coalition govt has passed legislation to abolish license fees for public radio & television in a highly unusual nighttime sitting of Parliament. This leaves public broadcasters less independent & highly dependent on politicians. ct24.ceskatelevize.cz/clanek/domac...

Meanwhile, pro-democracy, pro-Europe protesters in Tbilisi, Georgia, are tonight nearing their 700th consecutive day of protest against the pro-Russian government. They haven't missed a single day in the last 23 months.

This is the correct combination to persuade British voters. Euro is much more of a public opinion barrier than FoM. samf.substack.com/p/the-route-...

Europe is heading into a super election year in 2027. Those elections will take place against a precarious security backdrop: war in Ukraine and Iran, a retreating US & Europeans increasingly worried about their own security. So shouldn’t this benefit the political centre? Not so fast. 🧵

The achievement of Serbian students overthrowing Aleksandar Vučić can't be overstated. In 2024, they began protesting. In 2025, they transformed a protest movement into civil dissidence. In 2026, they became a political party — and two months later, crushed a corrupt state-entrenched authoritarian.

🇩🇪💶🇵🇱 Extremely important voice from my friend Philipp on the urgent need for Germany to, even symbolically, compensate the Polish (as in: Polish citizens, regardless of ethnicity) victims of WW2. Their numbers are dwindling, and the far right on both sides of the Oder is exploiting the issue.

On delaying or deluding climate policy this is now established practice - the EPP voting with the far-right in the EU Parliament. I would also no longer qualify this as 'breaching the cordon sanitaire' as it happens at almost every EU Parliament plenary voting session now at least once:

At present the concession is about timing only - but equally, a signal there’s awareness in Brussels of the significant difficulties the demand presents.

These proposals have above all a signalling function at present - wouldn’t be easy to realise. But with Le Pen also pulling in that direction & extreme right poised to gain (some) power in other MS soon, transforming Council, existential challenges to the EU are currently quite underpriced.

Not unexpected

Strange, then, when @theguardian.com moves from discussing European parties to talking about our home-grown parties of the same ilk - Restore Britain in this case - the label changes from *far* to *hard* 😒

We still recall the outcry when the possibility of de-funding UKICE was first floated a few years ago. Obvs everyone recognises that research funds are limited & need to cover diverse needs. But again today: the loss of UKICE will be felt significantly: they've done a huge service to UK politics.

On rejoining the EU Support: 55% Oppose: 34% ... but on the conditions of single currency and Schengen membership Support: 35% Oppose: 43% via YouGov, Jun 2026 britainelects.substack.com/p/is-rejoin-...

TODAY: Can human rights and international law prevail? Come to hear leading international jurist Prof. Veronika Fikfak & acclaimed war reporter Fergal Keane in conversation. Co-hosted with the Association of European Journalists. www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/events/... @laws.ucl.ac.uk, @uclspp.bsky.social

Don't miss this - what a great project, which we are excited to support. 8 October at the Bloomsbury Studio!

@epssnet.bsky.social 2027 is going to be great for judicial politics scholars

Fantastic opportunity at one of the best think tanks on Europe.

"Von der Leyen’s ambition to ‘to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible’ is deliciously vague: it implies some limit on the extent of possible cooperation, but does not tell us where it exactly lies." ✍️ @jreland.bsky.social on the prospect of associate membership of the EU

🚨BREAKING: Four days after voting ended in one of the closest elections in Swedish history, the count is finally done, pointing to a new center-left government and a comeback for former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. Full story: www.politico.eu/article/swed...

Carney downplays von der Leyen's idea of an "associated membership" in the EU when asked about it at his press conference, and notes VDL also called it an alliance (his preferred term). "The precise nomenclature is a question for Europe." "What matters is the substance."

EU Commission proposes "EU KIDS Act" to limit children's access to social media across the EU ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Please join us for a presentation of 'Inner Zone: The Untold Violence of Retribution in Besieged Sarajevo' (@pennpress.bsky.social), the new book by Jelena Golubović. 🗓️ 14 October at 11am 📍 UCL SSEES www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...

Look at what our friends at Oxford have just announced - outstanding and much needed.

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Kindly disagree on this one. In my view, you could go quite far legally with an Associate Agreement based on Art. 217 TFEU. Still requires unanimous support from member states and political will to go far, but in my view not treaty change or referenda.

Excellent to see work on British Slave Traders, based on years of work by colleagues at @uclhistory.bsky.social and @cslbs.bsky.social, as well as Manchester, King's and Lancaster, deservedly featured in the media. Explore the register here: britishslavetraders.org

Superb exposition from William Pettigrew of how slave trading (let alone the whole plantation complex that depended on it) was “enmeshed in the processes that produced the nation we know today”. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/comm...

So who "won" the Swedish election? Narratives after parliamentary elections are hard. The center right gained support but will lose power, and the Social Democrats lost support but will gain power. The radical right Sweden Democrats are the clear loser, losing support and power.

Event alert!

📌 29 September @ucl.ac.uk: Leading international jurist Prof. Veronika Fikfak @uclspp.bsky.social & acclaimed war reporter Fergal Keane consider current challenges to international law. Co-hosted with the Association of European Journalists. @laws.ucl.ac.uk www.ucl.ac.uk/european-ins...

📢 The UCL Arts and Sciences department is seeking a Professor of Creative Writing to lead our new Creative Writing MA course which starts in September 2027. Further information can be found at www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... The advert closes at 23.59 on 6 October.

Can we predict where the Russian pendulum might swing next? Join Prof. Alena Ledeneva at the Pushkin House Book Prize Festival for an opportunity to play the Informality Game and step into the dilemmas of decision‑making in complex contexts. 🗓️ 24 Sep at 6.30pm www.pushkinhouse.org/whats-on/eve...

Just a few of the #NewBooks we've added to SSEES Library's collections recently 📚📚📚

So privileged to have brought The Ukraine Shelf together with Uilleam Blacker to the Edinburgh International Book Festival for the second year in a row. Our wonderful guests this year were Bohdana Laiuk and Charlotte Higgins and we had a fantastic live audience keen to learn more about Ukraine. 1/2

Russia attacked the Starokozache international road border crossing with Moldova overnight using strike drones. Civilians near the checkpoint were killed and injured. The crossing has been temporarily closed following the attack. #Ukraine

What a wonderful day of celebration. We couldn’t be prouder of our graduates and all they have accomplished. 📸 Congratulations, and best wishes for everything that comes next! #UCLGrad #LoveUCL #UCL200 #UCLAlumni #UCL

We're delighted to see Professor Marc Stears, Director of @uclpolicylab.bsky.social and Pro-Provost for Policy Engagement, appointed as a Special Advisor to the Prime Minister. 🔗 https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/sep/ucl-academic-and-director-ucl-policy-lab-appointed-special-advisor-prime-minister

Ich habe hier zusammengefasst, wie die etablierten Parteien entscheidend zur Stärkung radikal rechter Parteien wie der AfD beigetragen haben. Auch als Reaktion auf den Wahlausgang gestern sehen wir wieder die genau gleichen Narrative aus Politik und Medien. Man bleibt im Teufelskreis gefangen.

"Britain and Europe: how close should we get?" Published today @britishfuture.bsky.social Most voters say they would choose a closer UK/EU future relatiomship than the Labour government's 'red lines' would allow but there is no settled view of the destinaton www.britishfuture.org/uk-eu-relati...

Thought-provoking intervention that also profiles the opinion of three outstanding FBAs

State honours for a war criminal shake Serbia's EU ambitions. Dr Jessie Barton Hronešová discusses Ratko Mladić's legacy and whether the funeral could become a turning point in relations between Belgrade and the European Union. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ojL...

Es wäre gut die nächsten Wochen mal denjenigen zuzuhören und eine Bühne zu geben die Erfahrung damit haben wie man Antifaschismus organisiert. Wir brauchen das sicher dringender als „ist die Brandmauer gescheitert?“

This is well worth reading. Disinformation blooms when information is scarce. "The informational vulnerability is a product of a legal architecture that offers almost no authoritative, usable answer to the question of who may enter and how."

++ Wahllokale haben geöffnet ++ #Liveblog #Sachsen-Anhalt #LandtagswahlSachsen-Anhalt

At today's informal Foreign Affairs Minister meeting in Ireland, Canadian Foreign Minister Anand will join her EU counterparts. Forget all the 'Canada should join the EU' memes, this to me is a real signal for closer EU-Canada cooperation:

Good news though shouldn't be overblown, third countries often attend EU events as guests, and UK engagement with Brussels remains generally weak. www.politico.eu/article/ed-m...

UK based PhD (or equivalent) in Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences received in the last decade (excluding career breaks)? These training and funding resources as well as this support is designed for you. Free to join and belong. 9 regional hubs across the 4 UK nations.