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Analysis

New Persian Gulf war puts Iranian Azerbaijanis in the spotlight

The recent American and Israeli military operation against Iran ignited a new and serious crisis between Baku and Tehran. According to Azerbaijan, on March 5th this year Iran attacked Azerbaijani territory with drones, injuring several people and stoking widespread fear that the new Persian Gulf war could spill into the South Caucasus.

April 21, 2026 - Natalia Konarzewska

The politics of reforming Ukraine’s wartime lifeline

Ukraine has a unitary railway system. The state-owned company, Ukrzaliznytsia, has a monopoly on the railways and operates passenger and freight services. This means competition is virtually non-existent. Such a model is not accepted in the European Union.

April 21, 2026 - Jakub Łoginow

Ballots under fire. Elections during war?

Consensus in Ukraine is that in order to hold elections, a ceasefire would first be necessary. Yet even if a genuine ceasefire were secured, urgent questions would follow. Ukraine thus faces a dilemma few modern democracies have encountered on such a scale: how to safeguard the integrity of elections while fighting for the state’s very survival.

April 21, 2026 - Mariia Didkovska

Populism and motherhood

Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s regime in Belarus has declared 2026 the “Year of the Belarusian Woman”. Under this banner, it has launched a large-scale media campaign promoting families and celebrating mothers. Not new to Belarus, the instrumentalization of family policy reflects a broader global pattern in which populist regimes appeal to traditional values and mobilize anti-gender narratives.

April 21, 2026 - Tatsiana Astrouskaya

How Georgia is being led away from NATO

In Georgia, the ruling elite increasingly presents neutrality as the country’s only viable path. Yet this narrative obscures the extent to which that same elite actively erodes trust in NATO and weakens Georgia’s engagement with the Alliance.

April 21, 2026 - Beka Chedia

How Central Asia quietly expands its horizons westward

Azerbaijan’s entry into the Central Asian Consultative Meeting could transform the grouping into a more coherent and self-reliant framework in which energy, security, cultural ties, and diplomatic coordination mutually reinforce regional autonomy. Energy aggregation would be central to this shift.

April 21, 2026 - Ioseb Dzamukashvili Sekhniashvili

The future of Slovenia’s new government coalition remains uncertain

The recent election in Slovenia has created as many questions as answers to the future of the country’s politics. While a close race will mean a coalition government is necessary, a foreign interference scandal suggests relevancy beyond the small country’s borders.

April 14, 2026 - Nikodem Szczygłowski

In the long shadow of Silicon Valley

Once dismissed as an eccentric Silicon Valley subculture, neoreactionary thought has begun to surface at the highest levels of western political debate. Rejecting democracy in favour of authoritarian rule, the “Dark Enlightenment” now influences figures in the American tech sector and government while attracting keen interest from Russian ideologues. The transnational creep of neoreactionary thought reveals a growing alignment between anti-liberal currents on both sides of the Atlantic.

February 23, 2026 - Justin Tomczyk

When comfort outweighs democracy

Viktor Orbán’s dominance rests not only on power politics, but also on memory. By mobilizing fear, promising protection, and offering small but symbolically charged material rewards, Fidesz has revived a political logic familiar from the Kádár era – one in which security matters more than participation and comfort outweighs democracy. As Hungary approaches another electoral cycle, the question is no longer whether nostalgia still works, but whether it is finally losing its grip.

February 23, 2026 - Andrea Schmidt

Can a minority become a democratic test?

The Polish community in Lithuania is often portrayed as an artificial construct, lacking historical or cultural legitimacy, while “real” Polishness is implicitly associated with centres such as Warsaw or Kraków. These attitudes have contributed to a broader erosion of prestige and self-confidence within the minority. They have also encouraged a condescending – and at times openly mocking – view of Polish culture in Lithuania.

February 23, 2026 - Karolina Benedyk

Reimagining labour in the Eastern Partnership

The application of AI remains a fledgling aspect of working life in the countries of the Eastern Partnership. While there have been numerous promising developments, the region still lags behind its western partners. Overcoming this gap could provide the area with new labour opportunities in a sphere possessing almost limitless horizons.

February 23, 2026 - Ana Diakonidze Mariami Paposhvili

The art of no deal: Trump’s rhetoric on Russia’s war in Ukraine in 2025

In his book The Art of the Deal, Donald Trump shares the secrets of successful negotiations. In his view, negotiations require setting ambitious goals and persistently pushing one’s own terms. After a year of active rhetoric, Trump failed to halt the fighting in Ukraine. But he did significantly narrow the political distance between Washington and Moscow, turning the peace process into a series of personalized bargains and sustained pressure on Kyiv.

February 3, 2026 - Lesia Bidochko

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