Politics

Labubus, with their naughty smiles, have stolen their way into most homes with kids, but their colorful furs hold a sinister secret. They are the newest presentation of a Chinese soft power takeover. With the US clogging up its channels of influence, we had better prepare for a wave of Chinafication. Soft power is marked by the promotion of positive values.

What are the polls telling us about the forthcoming October election in the Czech Republic? Will Andrej Babiš come back to power? What are some of the issues and scandals that dominate the political debate ahead of the election? And what will be the Czech position on Ukraine, the NATO, and security under the new government? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Martin Ehl, a journalist and writer, a reporter of Czech economic daily Hospodářské noviny (hn.cz).

Despite the increasing international prominence of mayors and municipal networks, local governments across Europe face numerous challenges. In the UK, local councils lack the resources to fulfill their extensive responsibilities, while in France, attempts at decentralization have been hindered by a lack of clarity over the distribution of responsibilities and a relatively high degree of central government interference.

What game is President Donald Trump playing with Vladimir Putin? Is peace in Ukraine attainable? And what is the role of the EU in the negotiations, if any? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Piotr Buras, the Head of ECFR\'s Warsaw office and a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. 

What does Kosovo\'s path to the EU look like? What should we know about Kosovo\'s struggle for independence? What geopolitical tensions should we be aware of in the Western Balkans? And what is the situation of the Kosovar in Warsaw, Poland? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Ambassador Drilon S. Gashi, the Chief of Mission of the Consulate General of the Republic of Kosovo in Warsaw.

Throughout President Trump’s two terms, he has made it a central focus to try and end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a piece of legislation that has given hundreds of thousands the ability to stay in America. In his most recent attempt to attack the program, he has declared that various universities are breaking Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits national origin discrimination, with DACA-only scholarships.

In recent years, deregulation reforms have become a key step in many European countries toward simplifying rules and improving administrative efficiency. As a result, citizens and entrepreneurs have gained easier access to public services, and markets have become more business-friendly. But which specific reforms have delivered the best results — and how can other European nations benefit from their neighbors’ experiences?

Who are the challengers to the European mainstream? What are the issues that unite and divide the challengers of the European project? And what can we learn from the Italian case and Giorgia Meloni?Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Teresa Coratella, the Deputy Head of the Rome office at the European Council on Foreign Relations’ (ECFR) Rome office. 

Who is Javier Milei? Where do his ideas come from? Where is Argentina heading under his leadership — and is it too early for books like these? Many of these questions already have answers within reach. In this review, we look at two recent publications on Javier Milei. The first is The Milei Era by Philipp Bagus. The second, Milei: The Revolution They Did Not See Coming, is co-authored by Nicolás Márquez and Marcelo Duclos.

Over the past decades, political poster culture in Hungary has undergone a radical transformation, reflecting a broader erosion of democratic norms and a decline in civil discourse. Formerly a medium of political creativity and pluralistic expression, public spaces in Hungary have increasingly become a battleground for government propaganda, dominated by crude, repetitive imagery and simplistic, emotive slogans.