Green turn for the Green Island
[Illustration by Alessia Angelini] The elections held on April 6 in Greenland may be crucial for Greenland’s future. The opposition Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) has beaten the Siumut Social Democrats who have dominated Greenlandic politics since 1979. At the heart of the election campaign consisted of the opposition to a...
Smoke and Mirrors in Turkmenistan: Democratization or Power Transition?
[Illustration by Niccolò Cedeno] On March 28, the citizens of Turkmenistan went to the polls to elect, for the first time, the members of the new upper house of Parliament. It is a novelty of these elections: until now, in fact, the Turkmen Parliament was composed of...
What it takes to be resilient: the Pandemic, the Parliament and Us
Article by Alessandro Zerbini | Illustration by Matilde Morri Euphemistically speaking, 2020 has been a year of great adaptation. Individually and collectively, we have had to accept and adapt to different rhythms and behaviours, and hardly any realm of our societies has been spared from this revolution. Parliaments are...
Belarus has woken up
Article by Angelachiara Allegretti | Illustration by Niccolò Cedeno The official results of the Belarusian presidential election of 9 August 2020 overwhelmingly sanctioned the victory of outgoing President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has led the country for the past 26 years. In the weeks before and after the election, numerous...
Policy Toolkit for 2021: What to Bring into the New Year
Article by Laura Morazzini | Illustration by Armadilly 2020 has been a difficult year from many points of view, with new problems upsettingly emerging and old ones inexorably worsening. However, with the new year comes an uplifting drive to change things, and, although it is impossible to draw exhaustive...
Something brewing in Kyrgyzstan, again
Article by Angelachiara Allegretti | Illustration by Armadilly After the 4 October parliamentary elections, Kyrgyzstan was shaken by violent protests. The Kyrgyz population took to the streets in the capital Bishkek and throughout the country to protest the results of the vote. The two parties close to the current...
Dealing with the ageing of the Old Continent to prevent a European Collapse
Article by Laura Governi | Illustration by Niccolò Cedeno For decades now, Europe has been facing an alarmingly low birth rate and the concurrent aging of its population. Scholars have argued that these trends could provoke the collapse of the economy. Are we equipped to work on the necessary...
No need for successors
Article by Angelachiara Allegretti | Illustration by Tommaso Bisagni On June 25, Russia went to the polls to vote in a national referendum on the controversial amendments to the country’s constitution. The referendum, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed to June 24 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Voting...
Are Americans running in circles? A glance to Civil-Rights Movements in the United States
Article by Laura Governi | Illustration by Viola Bartoli “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.” (Martin Luther King Jr.) It was December...
Senatores boni viri, senatus mala bestia? Nine simple ways to improve parliamentary ethics
Article by Alessandro Zerbini | Illustration by Chiara Zilioli The Latins had catchy wisdom pills for everything. One of the most bizarre of these sayings went, ‘senatores boni viri, senatus mala bestia’. In modern-day English, this quote roughly translates into a curious clarification: senators are good people, it is...