Dear Readers, EUIdeas will be taking a break from 8 August through 23 August 2022. We will return on Monday 24 August. You are welcome to explore our posts to date, which are always available here. Enjoy the summer.

This response to John Mearsheimer’s recent lecture at the EUI delves into the validity of his central thesis, the quality of the evidence, the broader implications and the concept of academic social responsibility. It finds that Mearsheimer’s explanation of the war in Ukraine is unsatisfactory and rests on shaky empirical foundations.

The authors conducted a 16-country survey to identify what reforms matter most to EU citizens. They found support for existing policies on climate change, immigration and corporation tax, and some support for more institutional integration. Decision-making by unanimity is unpopular.

There is no justification for the atrocities committed by Russia against the people of Ukraine. This does not stop scholars from trying to explain Putin’s decision to invade. John Mearsheimer’s recent lecture at the EUI was one such attempt – which fails on multiple counts, the authors argue.

Analysing a survey in five EU countries, Research Fellows Ioana-Elena Oana and Alexandru Moise find Hungarians and Poles to have the widest disagreement about EU membership for Ukraine and about ending energy dependence on Russia.

The EU’s Strategic Compass for Security and Defence was approved in the midst of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. In this assessment of the Compass, Visiting Fellow Michael Sanfey underlines the challenges of internal coordination and external cooperation, and regrets the lack of clarity on the EU’s peaceful raison d’être.

Facebook and other platforms have been criticised for complying with governments that stifle dissent, under various legal guises. Policy Leader Fellow Gideon Sarpong argues that upping investments in field staff and in technology, particularly in the Global South, can do much to prevent harmful content while protecting freedom of speech and of the press.

Taking the example of civil-society mobilisation to legalise euthanasia, law researcher Mario Pagano shows how powerful courts can be in bringing sensitive issues to the political agenda, and how effective litigation can be when the time is ripe for political institutions to act.

To mark Women’s History Month, Policy Leader Fellow Yasasmin Kaviratne reminds us of the gains Afghanistan’s women have made – and recently lost – in securing their fundamental rights to health, education and freedom from discrimination.

Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe will deprive the European Court of Human Rights of some of its funding, even as the caseload relating to Russia continues to grow. Law Researcher Helga Molbæk-Steensig explains the key role the Court could play in transitional justice following the war in Ukraine and calls on member states to up their contributions.