Subscribe to NEE
Text resize: A A
Change contrast
|
Subscribe to NEE

Issue 1-2/2026: Europe in the new disorder

February 23, 2026 - New Eastern Europe

Towards a new world disorder?

The post–Second World War international order appears to be nearing its end. It is increasingly being replaced by a system that openly presents itself as

February 23, 2026 - Andreas Umland

The collapse of the European security order

The sense that Europe is adrift in the emerging world order reflects both external shocks and internal shortcomings. On the one hand, the United States is

February 23, 2026 - Wojciech Michnik

The last frontier. Europe’s psychological war

Europe now finds itself sandwiched between two autocrats, each working to weaken Europe for his own purposes. Those purposes may not be joint, but they

February 23, 2026 - Paul Bell

When war becomes a national idea: Russia’s strategy towards Europe

If Russia is not stopped in Ukraine, it will double down on efforts to destabilize Europe and may again turn to armed aggression. The safest and cheapest

February 23, 2026 - Maria Domańska

Never again meets a new war

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has forced Germany into a reckoning that would have seemed implausible just a few years ago. Warnings that Moscow

February 23, 2026 - Isabelle de Pommereau

Latin Europe

What a future European culture will look like remains an open question. What matters here is the insistence that such a culture must exist at all. Europe

February 23, 2026 - David Hallbeck

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.

February 23, 2026 - Justin Tomczyk

Ukraine’s post-war labour dilemma: Who will fill the jobs?

Discussions are beginning to grow with regards to the shape of Ukraine following the end of Russia’s current invasion. This is particularly true regarding

February 23, 2026 - Stanislav Storozhenko

The return of Siarhei Tsikhanouski and what it means for the Belarusian democratic forces

The re-entry of Siarhei Tsikhanouski into the Belarusian political scene has revealed fault lines within the opposition movement. His symbolic role,

February 23, 2026 - Hanna Vasilevich

Punished for being abused: Belarusian controversy

Gradually but decisively, the European Union is folding Belarus into the same category as Russia. The toughest measures are coming from states that share a border with Belarus. How did a society once seen as a victim of Europe’s most brutal dictatorship come to be regarded as complicit in its crimes?

February 23, 2026 - Nasta Zakharevich

Macedonians seek justice to heal Kočani’s wounds

Every Saturday in Kočani, North Macedonia, looks the same since last year’s tragedy. Parents gather for a weekly march across the small town. It usually starts at the city park, continues to the police headquarters and ends in front of the local court – a reminder for the institutions to do their job. The marches continue, driven not by the promise of answers, but by the fear that those answers may never arrive.

February 23, 2026 - Jovan Gjorgovski

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

Prussia’s forgotten heritage

After the final partition of Poland in 1795, Prussia emerged not only as a territorial winner but also a multi-lingual state: Polish speakers constituted nearly half of its population and more than half of the kingdom’s territory consisted of newly annexed Polish lands. Yet this was also a missed political opportunity.

February 22, 2026 - Piotr Leszczyński

Is the past for sale?

In Poland, cultural heritage has increasingly become a site where memory, market logic and political power intersect. From urban regeneration projects and nostalgia tourism to digitally-branded cultural platforms and AI-generated public figures, the past is often packaged, optimized and sold.

February 22, 2026 - Giorgia Maurovich

Partners

Terms of Use | Cookie policy | Copyryight 2026 Kolegium Europy Wschodniej im. Jana Nowaka-Jeziorańskiego 31-153 Kraków
Agencja digital: hauerpower studio krakow.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. View more
Cookies settings
Accept
Decline
Privacy & Cookie policy
Privacy & Cookies policy
Cookies list
Cookie name Active
Poniższa Polityka Prywatności – klauzule informacyjne dotyczące przetwarzania danych osobowych w związku z korzystaniem z serwisu internetowego https://neweasterneurope.eu/ lub usług dostępnych za jego pośrednictwem Polityka Prywatności zawiera informacje wymagane przez przepisy Rozporządzenia Parlamentu Europejskiego i Rady 2016/679 w sprawie ochrony osób fizycznych w związku z przetwarzaniem danych osobowych i w sprawie swobodnego przepływu takich danych oraz uchylenia dyrektywy 95/46/WE (RODO). Całość do przeczytania pod tym linkiem
Save settings
Cookies settings