Foreign and security policyHow do we measure defeat? Years of war in Ukraine have shifted global power away from the West. This may not yet represent a defeat, but it is certainly not a victory By Nickolay Kapitonenko
Democracy and societyKyiv’s great re-shuffle Ukraine’s top power shift signals deep securitisation and a careful balancing of rivals as the war enters a volatile phase By Balázs Jarábik
Democracy and societyFewer walls, more bridges Calls for firewalls against the far right overlook a key truth: democracy is defended through debate, not isolation By Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf
Economy and ecologyA moonshot in retreat Once heralded as Europe’s man on the moon moment, the Green Deal now wavers under political compromise and legal uncertainty By Daniel Harper
Democracy and societyOffshore, off course Europe’s push to shift asylum procedures to third countries risks outsourcing not only refugees, but also its moral and political responsibility By Judith Kohlenberger
Democracy and societyBrave new restrictions Has Europe’s crackdown on free speech become a bigger threat to democracy than ‘the extremists’ it seeks to contain? By Jacob Mchangama
Democracy and societyThe world record that nobody wanted Over 542 days without a government in Brussels. Maybe it’s time for a conclave: lock them together, throw away the key and wait for white smoke By Maïthé Chini
Foreign and security policyIn the shadows of our time While Trump reorganises Europe’s neighbourhood, the EU remains reactive. Its habitual passivity could relegate it to a permanent supporting role By Sven Biscop
Foreign and security policyMoscow’s true fears The current ‘peace plan’ is less about conflict settlement than about the Kremlin’s fears and its desire to control Ukraine By Hanna Shelest
Interviews‘The willingness to compromise has risen steadily’ Felix Hett on the Ukrainian perception of Trump’s peace plan and the likelihood of its success
Japan’s feminist reckoning In World War II, the Japanese Army forced women and girls into sexual slavery. With ‘Me too’ gaining momentum, it’s time to reckon with the past
Strength in partnership The EU–Mercosur deal is more than a trade agreement. It is a commitment to rules-based cooperation in an increasingly unstable world
Democracy can’t be imported Intervention can force change at the top, but it cannot deliver democracy. In Venezuela, the decisive struggle is between internal power blocs