Seán Hanley

How the Czech Senate protects the country from democratic backsliding - LSE European Politics New research shows how the Czech Senate’s self-perception as a “guardian of democracy” allows it to act as a vital institutional brake on illiberal reforms.

In an era where liberal democracy is under strain, the Czech Senate provides a compelling example of how institutional identity coupled with veto powers can halt democratic backsliding.

✍ Jan Hruška & @drseanhanley.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...

How I've learned that certainty is the thing to really fear After five decades hosting radio phone-ins and debates, Nicky Campbell reflects on the state of public debate

Yeah, certainty is toxic - including, although in different ways, in academic research. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

UCL shows its colours.

La dissuasion avancée : le discours intégral d'Emmanuel Macron « Nous entrons sur le chemin de la dissuasion avancée. » Alors que 6 Européens sur 10 soutiennent l’extension de la dissuasion nucléaire française à toute l’Union, dans son discours de l’île Longue, ...

Full text of the speech. The deployment of nuclear armed aircraft to other Europeans is quite something.

legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2026/03/0...

The Representation of the People Bill: contours of the debates to come The government’s long-awaited proposals for electoral reforms, published last month, will receive their first scrutiny in the House of Commons next Monday. Ahead of that debate, Alan Renwick analys…

*Representation of the People Bill update*

Steve Reed has just announced: 'We will repeal in full the power for government to impose a strategy and policy statement on the Electoral Commission'.

A very welcome change. I set out last week why it was needed.

constitution-unit.com/2026/02/26/t...

Well OK but does party membership mean anything much these days other than just a tracker of support. We already know from the polls that Greens close to overhauling Labour.

Poland asks EU Parliament to strip far-right leader Braun of immunity to face Holocaust denial charge

Poland has asked the European Parliament to strip far-right leader Grzegorz Braun of immunity so that he can be charged with denying Nazi crimes, an offence carrying a potential three-year jail term.

The case relates to his claims that gas chambers were not used at the Auschwitz and Majdanek camps.

People who don’t understand that we are about to witness a massive attempt to corrupt American democracy by Trump, are living in a dream land.

Foreign Minister Sikorski:

Contrary to what Russian propaganda says, NATO did not expand into Central European countries. It was us - our countries, the countries of our region, including Poland - that sought membership.

Firm but fair criticism from @alanrenwick.bsky.social of the "glaring omission" in the Representation of the People Bill.

The independence of the Electoral Commission has been seriously undermined. The government must act to restore it.

Read in full @conunitucl.bsky.social 👇
buff.ly/qhmruE3

Hungarian analysts and several EU diplomats in Budapest fear Orbán may be triggering a long-rumored worst-case scenario: using a fabricated national security threat to crack down on the opposition or even cancel the election. This military deployment puts that scenario into play.

America welcomes well-connected criminals

#OTD 40 years ago, Mikhail Gorbachev announced glasnost (openness) at the 27th CPSU Party Conference. (Image from #TwilightStruggle @jasondcmatthews.bsky.social @gmtgames.bsky.social) Read more: cliosboardgames.wordpress.com/2026/02/22/g...

🇬🇧🇺🇦 British actor Ian McKellen read a poem by Ukrainian veteran Artur Dron, “First to the Corinthians,” on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion.

X’s algorithms are not neutral tools, but an editorial force, shaping real worldviews. And unlike much of what you read on X, this finding is based on rigorous research.

👉 Read the full story: tcnv.link/CSXfxg6

Event poster for 'Film screening: That Boy: conversation about hate and healing (2025). TRIGGER WARNING: This film contains accounts of violence, violence against women and racist talk.

🎬 Film screening: That Boy: conversation about hate and healing (2025).

This film documents the encounter between former victim and oppressor, which probes the healing potential of restorative justice in cases of hate crimes and violent racism.

🗓️ 10 March at 5pm
➡️ www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...

Looks really interesting - also commendable that there isn’t a dreadful pun about pirates in the title:)

🚨Excited to see my two new publications in a special issue on 🏴‍☠️ parties, co-edited with Vladimír Naxera, now out in Comparative European Politics. The first is the SI introduction (with Vladimír) and a reflection on two decades of 🏴‍☠️ politics in Europe. This was fun!
link.springer.com/content/pdf/...

A graffitied defence of evidence based policy-making and enquiry…

.. although populists and conspiracists have long hijacked the idea of “doing your own research”

A colleague just spotted this on the M1. Either there are some real Royal Society stans, or organised scepticism is becoming a bit messy. Can anyone explain the subtext here?

“While Russia still possesses nuclear weapons and a large military, it does not measure up as a great power in virtually any category of military, economic, or science and technology indicators.”

More on Russia’s declining power by CSIS's Defense and Security Department: https://bit.ly/4rQdYoD

Against Democracy A bracingly provocative challenge to one of our most cherished ideas and institutions

Jason Brennan rather rudely describes many citizens as “Hobbits” - he has doubts about them capacities for political engagement as I remember press.princeton.edu/books/paperb... - but personally am convinced that Bilbo Baggins would never vote for Farage or use X

Are the upper chambers a source of democratic resilience? Evidence from elite perceptions in the Czech Republic In recent years, several Central and Eastern European countries, including Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, have experienced significant democratic backsliding. The Czech Republic was also perceived ...

Teamed up with the excellent Jan Hruška ( Masaryk Uni 🇨🇿 / Adam Mickiewicz Uni Poznań 🇵🇱) to explore how upper chambers can guard against democratic backsliding. A neglected topic.Our new piece in Democratization:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... 
Free eprints: www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

Yes, it’s slightly akin asking for a tax rebate because your kids couldn’t go to school in person during the pandemic, although I can see that too is a flawed analogy.

A Matter of Solidarity: A New Approach to Revive Article 7 TEU Against Hungary Viktor Orbán increasingly undermines the EU’s collective interests. The Hungarian government systematically uses its veto powers to block Ukrainian military aid and accession negotiations and to dilu...

Perhaps a good time to bring up again our proposal with @dimitrispieker.bsky.social and Ulrich Karpenstein on how to suspend Hungary’s voting rights based on a breach of solidarity in CFSP: www.delorscentre.eu/en/publicati...

Orbán’s pay cheques: Reform candidate fuelled by profits from Russian oil The Reform candidate at this month’s byelection claims he wants to put Britain first, but is he still on the payroll of Viktor Orbán’s far-right propaganda unit?

Reform UK’s unsurprising Hungarian connection goodlawproject.org/orbans-pay-c...

It’s a rainy day at UCL.

🇵🇱⚖️President Nawrocki vetoes the law reforming the National Council of Judiciary, dispelling any hopes the Polish government had of reforming the rule of law through new legislation. Major, but expected, defeat for the new MoJ Waldemark Żurek and his plans. 1/

Okay, this is quite outstanding from Bedford Council.

Just to put this in context for you, this would nearly double the deficits posted by the big unis in deepest trouble if they had to pay in a one-shot. Now no doubt they will try another Heath Robinson financial vehicle to do so if needs must, but some simply won't be able to pay if on this scale.