society

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz famously described culture as a web of narratives. The way societies understand the labor market is one such narrative — and it matters, because the story we choose shapes how we regulate and manage economic life.

Some Members of Parliament in Czechia seem to want to copy an infamous Russian law aimed against NGOs. Jindřich Rajchl, elected on the ballot of the far-right SPDparty, proudly stands behind this initiative.

“I want more!” – the refrain of Lion Ceccah’s song, chosen to represent Lithuania at the Eurovision Song Contest, seems to have touched something deeper than pop taste alone. Eurovision is Europe’s great annual song contest: a glittering spectacle, a national showcase and a shared cultural ritual watched by millions. For a few minutes on that stage, a country’s song becomes its voice to the world. And Lithuania’s voice this year says: I want more.

Art as a tool for understanding the world. Collaboration and community as a response to the tensions that affect us all. I am looking forward to the 25th anniversary edition of the Fotofestiwal in Lodz, Poland.

For a long time under Orbán’s illiberal regime, the common sentiment on the street was that the EU should intervene to help Hungarians. This was, of course, unrealistic, and should the EU have intervened more, Orbán would have used it to get Hungary out of the Union. The EU, however, is still in the focus of sentiments on the streets.

Over the past 100 years, the region of Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) has always faced distinct kinds of uncertainty; political instability, armed conflicts, geopolitical problems and corruption. The constant fluctuation of the value of money, the frequent changes in constitutional law, economic instability, and inflation have also been leading factors in this continuous uncertainty.

In 2024, alcohol consumption per capita in Poland was the lowest (8.77 litres of pure alcohol) since 2005, and since 2021 there has been an uninterrupted downward trend in alcohol consumption. We drink about 10% less than in 2019 or 2021. Given that consumption is declining naturally, it does not seem that additional regulations and restrictions are needed.

To understand why European identity runs deeper in the post-communist East, one must understand what “Europe” meant to societies that lived under the Iron Curtain. It was not merely a geographic area, but rather the name of liberation.

Budapest remains one of the most transit-oriented large cities in Europe, meaning that much of its urban structure and mobility patterns are organized around public transport, with dense development and daily activities concentrated along major transit corridors.

In the 5th year of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, how is the civil society in Ukraine currently faring? Is the Ukrainian identity under pressure? What is the impact of the war on the mental health of people, particularly children? And what should we know about paganism?