Publikationen

The years 2020-2021 were the last of the Rutte III government that came to power in March 2017. This was an uneasy four-party coalition between centerright parties (the conservative-liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the largely ideology-free...

Finland is among the richest and happiest countries in the world. In spite of cuts in public spending over the past few decades, welfare state arrangements are an important cause of citizens’ satisfaction. Given this, Finland may also have been in a better position than many...

New Zealand has weathered the global COVID-19 pandemic relatively well, both in terms of public health and economic performance. As of December 2021, the country had only recorded nine deaths per million population – the lowest such figure in the OECD. New Zealand’s economy...

France enjoys solid institutions of governance, and under the Fifth Republic has benefited from the most stable, consensual and efficient period of the past 200 years. Yet the country has struggled to effectively address the challenges associated with Europeanization and...

As a consensus-driven democracy, blessed with generous natural resources managed in a responsible way, Norway performs well in most international comparisons of governance, quality of life, and in rankings of economic and social conditions. Continuity and pragmatic solutions...

Bulgaria was witness to several unprecedented developments in 2021. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Bulgaria held one presidential election in November 2021 and three parliamentary elections (in April, July and November of the same year). The country failed, twice, to elect a...

Between July 2018 and December 2021, Czechia was governed by a minority coalition, including Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s Movement of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO) and the Social Democrats (ČSSD), and backed by the Communist Party (KSČM) until April 2021.

Israel’s response to some aspects of the crisis has been a huge failure, to others it was mediocre, and on vaccination policy, it has thus far been a considerable success. As of mid-January 2021, Israel was a world leader in two respects. While Israel led the globe in the...

In Staaten, in denen die Medienfreiheit, Bürger und politische Rechte, die Unabhängigkeit der Justiz oder wichtige demokratische Werte schon vor der Krise ausgehöhlt worden waren, verfestigten sich unter dem Deckmantel der Coronakrise diese besorgniserregenden Entwicklungen...

The giant stress test produced by the pandemic has revealed the weaknesses and strengths of the Italian system. The health and economic impacts within the country was particularly severe due to the fact that Italy was the first European country to be hit by the contagion,...