Publikationen

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...

Throughout the reporting period, the challenges associated with the pandemic were the dominating issue. Overall, the country and its institutions have proved considerably resilient in this crisis. The country benefited from its strong institutions, sound public budgets, and...

Poland has been governed by the right-wing populist PiS since 2015. In 2020, PiS reaffirmed its hold on power through Andrzej Duda’s re-election as president of the republic in June. However, this was a narrow victory with Duda winning only 420,000 more votes (in a country...

Greece’s political and economic environment improved during the period under review, despite the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2018, Greece had exited the third Economic Adjustment Program (2015–2018), and by 2019 a new, more predictable and more reform-oriented...

The period under review covers the first two years in office of the second António Costa government. The period was inevitably overshadowed by the pandemic. However, it also saw the eventual demise of the Costa government in December 2021.

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.

Compared with other countries, and in particular other EU member states, Austria’s performance during the coronavirus crisis has not been unsuccessful. In terms of medical (e.g., infection and death rates) and economic indicators (e.g., unemployment), Austria’s performance...

The first major outbreak of coronavirus in Japan occurred following the arrival of the cruise ship “Diamond Princess” in Yokohama on 3 February 2020. A first wave of infections hit the country, stretching from about March to early May. A second wave followed in July to...

Belgium, even more than the rest of Europe, was hit very severely by the COVID-19 epidemic. The exact reasons for Europe’s poor performance will be debated for years to come, but available evidence already allows strong conjectures to be drawn. A first plausible factor is...