DEMOCRACY AND CORRUPTION
Georgia's Tough Choices
How the Ukrainian war is forcing the South Caucasus nation of Georgia to choose between West and East.
8 Dec 2022
Poland's Church and State Alliance
Poland is widely regarded as Europe's most socially conservative country, so it is not especially surprising that its current right-wing government and its Catholic Church enjoy a mutually supportive relationship. But critics say the Church has stood by while the government eroded democratic norms, and that both have drawn strength and popularity from the demonisation of others - migrants, the LGBTQ community and, most recently, campaigners for women's rights.
Apr 8, 2021
The Battle for Belarus
Thousands of refugees are stranded on the border between Belarus and the European Union in an emergency engineered by Belarus's authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko. But to many of his battle-weary political opponents, the president's latest departure from international norms is just another example of his cavalier attitude to human rights.
Dec 2, 2021
Bulgaria: At the Crossroads
In 2020, public fury at alleged corruption among Bulgaria’s political elite erupted into widespread protests. Since then, the crisis has seen two inconclusive elections, various prominent officials mired in scandal, and a three-term prime minister, Boyko Borissov, forced from office.
19 Aug 2021
Hungary: Europe’s Bad Boy
In his youth, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was hailed as a champion of freedom, a key figure in the generation of pro-democracy activists who stood up to the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War.
These days he is routinely characterised as an authoritarian, far-right nationalist figure, a demagogue whose migrant-bashing agenda poses a significant threat to Western democratic norms.
11 Jul 2019
Moldova and the Puppet Master
His critics say he’s a secretive oligarch who pulls all the strings in a country caught between Europe and Russia, while his supporters say he’s a just a successful businessman-turned-politician with his country’s best interests at heart.
Who is the man whom many call Moldova’s “Puppet Master”? And what lies behind allegations of blackmail, hitmen, and a billion-dollar bank fraud?
14 Mar 2019
Russia: The Orthodox connection
What lies behind the close relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and President Vladimir Putin?
Under communism the Russian Orthodox Church was suppressed – its property confiscated, its followers ridiculed, harassed and imprisoned.
But these days, a resurgent and muscular church is central to President Vladimir Putin‘s ideas of Russian identity – an echo chamber, say critics – to Kremlin policies at home and abroad.
19 Oct 2017
A Belarusian Spring
For more than two decades Alexander Lukashenko has governed the Republic of Belarus with an iron fist – earning himself the sobriquet of “Europe’s last dictator.” But earlier this year opposition voices finally managed to make themselves heard. Over just a few weeks, protests against a new tax to be levied on the unemployed became an anti-government movement led by a charismatic opposition figure. These spread from Minsk, the capital, to other towns and cities across Belarus. So would these demonstrations strengthen or weaken the regime’s hold on power?
1 Jun 2017
A Very Montenegrin Coup
Last October, the prime minister of Montenegro announced that an election day plot to overthrow his government had been foiled; that pro-Russia conspirators had planned to assassinate the country’s leaders.
But was this a genuine coup attempt – a sinister effort to topple a democratically elected administration and take over the country by force? Or was it, as some claim, a carefully choreographed “fake news” event, designed to win sympathy for a controversial and allegedly corrupt politician on the verge of losing public support.
2 Mar 2017
Armenia: Divided Within?
Could a faltering economy, corruption and public disaffection over its relationship with Russia lead to an uprising in Armenia?
After a government crackdown on nationalist dissent and simmering tension with volatile neighbours, will recent changes to the constitution of Armenia enhance the future stability of this South Caucasus nation, or just help cement its president’s hold on power?
27 Oct 2016
The Odessa File
Over the past decade Ukraine has been battered by insurrection, economic crises, and the loss of Crimea to Russia. Now, with tension in the east continuing and millions driven from their homes by war, a new battle is under way – against deeply entrenched corruption and over mighty oligarchs, who still exercise such power and control over the country’s assets that many fear Ukraine’s very existence is under threat.
11 Aug 2016
Poles Apart
Once a communist dictatorship, Poland is generally considered a successful democracy. But are those freedoms now at risk?
With its new nationalist government caught in a deepening constitutional crisis and xenophobia and racial intolerance on the rise, some fear that the country’s widening divisions could prove fatal to its future stability. Even some of its European Union neighbours are now deeply concerned.
7 Apr 2016
Belarus: Europe’s last dictatorship
In October 2015 a presidential election was held in Belarus.
It wasn’t a convincing contest and few thought that victory would go to anyone other than the man who had ruled the country for the past two decades. With an economy in tatters and a chilling charge list of human rights violations against his name, Alexander Lukashenko has long presided over Europe’s closest equivalent to North Korea.
21 Jan 2016
Romania: War on Corruption
Last December Klaus Iohannis was sworn in as President of Romania. No one expected such a rank outsider to beat Prime Minister Victor Ponta who was seeking to consolidate his hold on the country by moving on to higher office. But in the wake of mounting corruption scandals Iohannis was swept to power on an anti-sleaze ticket. Among his first words to Parliament were: "The whole political class must understand there is no way forward for Romania except that of a country rid of corruption." It's had some high profile successes, but will it ultimately make a difference?
Oct 22, 2015
Macedonia: Behind the Facade
Macedonia’s government has been accused of wanting to rewrite the nation’s history along ethnically divisive lines. Its Albanian minority fear the possible consequences.
Against a background of increasing tension caused by a controversial inter-community murder case, the government’s opponents have also weighed in with allegations that conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has been behind a massive state surveillance and wire-tapping programme, aimed at suppressing dissent and clinging onto power.
18 Mar 2015
Georgia: Corridor of power
Can the Republic of Georgia remain aloof from Russian expansionism or will internal division drag it towards conflict?
Despite its favourable geographical situation at the gate of both Europe and Asia, 23 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Georgia still struggles to assert itself as a modern democracy.
17 Dec 2014
Bulgaria: Wrestled to the ground
For over a year now Bulgaria, a modern EU member state, has been struggling with its troubled history and torn over where to go next. But what lies behind these divisions, and can they ever be reconciled? Are they really, as many Bulgarians seem to think, the consequence of a toxic legacy from its communist years?
24 Apr 2014
Hungary: Towards the Abyss
Investigating why critics of Hungary’s authoritarian government believe it is leading the country towards fascism.
22 May 2013