Doctoral researchers Raghavi Viswanath (Law), Anastasia Prokhorova (SPS), and Ophelia Nicole-Berva (SPS) unpack the construction of risk in fieldwork, consent as a process, and the issue of ‘giving back’ to communities being studied, in this takeaway from a workshop they organised.

Is the UN Security Council a dysfunctional dinosaur? Over a prolonged period, it has failed to grapple successfully with numerous transnational challenges. Michael Sanfey, Visiting Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre, argues that the UNSC has had its day and needs to be replaced by something new.

In providing access to digital justice mechanisms, European lawmakers and platforms must consider a range of vulnerable groups – people with disabilities, elderly and migrants – explains Scientific Coordinator of the e-Justice ODR Scheme, Federica Casarosa.

Despite evidence of climate-change related heatwaves, too few cities are adapting, with lethal effects. Policy Leader Fellow Alejandro Sáez Reale describes some of Europe’s successes and failures and calls for greater commitment by government and business leaders to use the resources and know-how that are available.

The 44-state European Political Community (EPC), first convened in late 2022 to express unity and defiance against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, meets again on 1 June. In this post STG Executive Director Fabrizio Tassinari explains how this embryonic organisation might acquire real value.

In a look at recent initiatives to decolonialise the aid sector, humanitarian professional and STG Policy Leader Fellow Carla Vitantonio finds that big international agencies have something to learn from local organisations taking a collaborative, open approach towards language sensitivity.

Professor Jelena Dzankic, of the EUI’s Global Governance Programme, spells out how better data and research infrastructure can improve policymaking and empower civil society, ultimately smoothing Western Balkans countries’ path to joining the EU – a prospect recently on the agenda again.

The EU policy response to disinformation expands researchers’ involvement beyond data analysis to fostering accountability and public scrutiny. Lisa Ginsborg and Paula Gori, of the European Digital Media Observatory, point out key considerations for collaboration, infrastructure and capacity building, and data protection if this effort is to succeed.

The African Continental Free Trade Area could transform regional growth, with key focus on three policy dimensions, argue research fellows Sonali Chowdhry, Martina F. Ferracane and Rohit Ticku (Robert Schuman Centre). These dimensions are non-tariff barriers, the digital economy and improved government procurement policies.

The EU explicitly promotes bicycling for the sake of health, climate and jobs. But as Policy Leader Fellow Daiva Repečkaitė notes, poorly monitored funding schemes and incompetent route planning can do more harm than good.