Polis Paper N°16 | Refugees of Second Class: Ukrainian Roma in Hungary and Moldova

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, European leaders and civil society have shown an immense solidarity towards the people of Ukraine and in particular the refugees that were forced to flee to the neighbouring countries and the EU. However, this solidarity does not extend to Ukrainian Roma refugees, who face severe discrimination, segregation, and rejection. Moldova and Hungary are two of the most important transit countries for refugees on the way to Western Europe. As their authorities, government officials and civil society are publicly reinforcing harmful stereotypes about Roma, crossing the borders, asking for asylum, or accessing decent living conditions in refugee centres has become harder than ever.

Polis Paper N° 12 | Rhetorics of the crisis

Take a look at the foreign policy rhetoric during the coronavirus pandemic: Fourteen Polis180-members examined government narratives closely related to COVID-19. They analyse positions of twelve countries on five continents. This paper shows how political communication works in the age of Twitter and how the pandemic offers a platform for governments to express their ambitions for regional and global influence.

Polis Paper N° 11 | What’s next for Europe?

We do like – some of us even love – Europe, the EU or the european idea. But the EU we live in is not flawless. In the weeks following the election of the European Parliament, we asked Polis180 members what they think should be improved in the EU. Four topics emerged as policy areas where change needs to be brought on the way: institutional design and cultural policy, climate, digitalisation and security & defence.

POLIS PAPER #8 | Wer Gender negiert, riskiert Straflosigkeit. Sexualisierte Gewalt im Kontext von UN-Friedensmissionen

POLIS PAPER #8
Wer Gender negiert, riskiert Straflosigkeit. Sexualisierte Gewalt im Kontext von UN-Friedensmissionen

von Lisa Müller-Dormann, Leonie Hopgood & Michelle Ammann

In Konfliktregionen werden existierende Ungleichheiten zwischen den Geschlechtern verstärkt und Frauen* sind häufiger von sexualisierter Gewalt betroffen – nicht nur durch Konfliktparteien, sondern im schlimmsten Fall auch durch Soldat*innen und zivile Schutzbeauftragte der UN. Trotz guter Ansätze kommen die Autorinnen zu dem Ergebnis, dass der momentane Fokus der Strategie auf individuelle Verantwortung und Strafverfolgung nicht ausreichend ist. Für die Umsetzung struktureller Reformen muss die Bekämpfung der Ungleichheiten zwischen den Geschlechtern, basierend auf gesellschaftlich konstruierten Ideen von Geschlechterrollen und insbesondere von Maskulinitäten, Hauptbestandteil der Strategie werden.

#GEOEUvalues Policy Paper | Normative Power vs. Democratic Backsliding

Since the end of the Cold War the EU has increasingly built its relations towards enlargement and neighboring states on values such as democracy and the rule of law. Those values are now, however, more and more under attack within the EU. Our paper examines how illiberal developments within the EU might affect the EU’s normative power and could also directly impact on its neighbors.