In the current era of political distrust and ideological extremism, perhaps the only element of modern politics we can largely agree upon is its democratic…
Thought Babble
Think pieces, Babble style.
The lands that Europe forgot? Rural Europe’s Struggle with Modernity and Identity
When describing our diverse EU family, we love to gush about the likes of Paris, Budapest or Prague – but what about those further-afield places,…
China is doing foreign policy with a cash watering can
The “going out” policy of the Republic of China has worked for years. Now the Chinese credit boom is about to come to an end….
A European Dream and “The Elite”
Everywhere we look, we keep hearing that the wealthiest 1% keeps getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. While this is not exactly true…
Austria, the Nordic country in the heart of Europe
2020 has only just begun, but it is already proving to be an interesting year. A new European Commission takes office and promises us a…
Czechia – Still Velvet 30 Years Later?
In November 2019, thirty years after the Velvet Revolution, hundreds of thousands of Czechs commemorated the events of the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia of…
The EU’s Eastern Partnership needs a new approach
Nowhere is the Union’s neighbourhood policy more mature than in the East, yet expectations are high and successes manageable. Political balancing act The Eastern Partnership…
Boris Johnson: riding towards a place with no name
Discussing the protracted negotiations to end the Vietnam war, the American diplomat John Negroponte once said that it had taken a long time to “force…
Can logic prevail and the UK find an ‘Exit from Brexit’?
The Brexit debate in the UK has never been about reason and logic. For many protagonists on both sides of the argument, it is not…
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe… The next Austrian government
The Austrian elections are over and Sebastian Kurz’ conservative ÖVP has come out on top. The night ended in bitter tears for the socialist SPÖ,…