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Category: Issue 1-2 2026

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 post-war recovery of Ukraine needs to be green, just and European

An interview with Valeriia Bondarieva, co-founder of Rozviy, a Ukrainian feminist climate organization. Interviewer: Emma Novotná

February 23, 2026 - Emma Novotná Valeriia Bondarieva

The future of war

A conversation with Peter Warren Singer, strategist and senior fellow at New America. Interviewer: Vazha Tavberidze

February 22, 2026 - Peter Warren Singer Vazha Tavberidze

Armenia needs to reclaim its bargaining power

A conversation with Dr Eduard Abrahamyan, senior research fellow at the Institute for Security Analysis (Yerevan) and an international relations scholar at University College London. Interviewer: Tatevik Hovhannisyan

February 22, 2026 - Eduard Abrahamyan Tatevik Hovhannisyan

Hollowed out: the slow collapse of Georgia’s city of black gold

The Georgian city of Chiatura was once one of the world’s most important centres of manganese production. Today, many miners are unemployed and struggling to survive, after a sudden shutdown that has plunged the western Georgian city into economic and social freefall. Set against a background of national political turmoil, their struggle exposes how a town built around a single resource, and a single company, is slowly being emptied out.

February 22, 2026 - Poppy Askham

Women of the quiet frontline: Four pastors in atheist Brandenburg

Thirty-five years after Germany's reunification, Brandenburg – the rural state surrounding Berlin – shows both promise and peril. Economic modernization has not prevented social fragmentation. Political freedoms coexist with mistrust. In this vacuum, populism thrives. Yet in the quiet, unhurried work of four women pastors, another possibility flickers: that civic trust can be rebuilt from the bottom up, sometimes with beer and a Bible.

February 22, 2026 - Ulrike Butmaloiu

The challenge for Ukrainian veterans returning to civilian life

Going to the front line is a challenge. Leaving it is another. For Ukrainian veterans, returning to civilian life is a painful process. After the war, Ukraine will have to reintegrate more than two million former soldiers.

February 22, 2026 - Téo Manisier

On African university students in Poland. A response

Africans are increasingly becoming a part of the student body present in Poland. While many are attracted by comparatively low tuition fees, there are other aspects making them interested in the country. Such an attraction may ultimately lead to a more permanent link between Poland and the continent.

February 22, 2026 - Christopher Garbowski

Relabelling paintings, reclaiming history

Throughout much of history, Ukrainian artists or those with some connection to the country have frequently been labelled as “Russian”, when in reality their identities were far more complex. Spurred on by Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian art historians and cultural NGOs are attempting to change these narratives. But setting the record straight is not as simple as it seems.

February 22, 2026 - Cristina Coellen

Double exclusion. How is it to be a queer migrant from Eastern Europe in Poland today?

LGBTQ+ rights in Belarus and Ukraine have remained static for years. The fear of coming out persists, both in one's home country and now within the diaspora abroad. Many queer migrants hide their sexuality, citing political or economic reasons for moving. Although Poland still has a long way to go, its relative openness, access to EU anti-discrimination frameworks and integration into European institutional life create better conditions for social progress and visibility.

February 22, 2026 - Sviataslaŭ Kruk

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