Artists and cultural workers are among the worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic. While some countries have offered support, others have let their artists down. Especially independent creators without connections to well-established cultural institutions are struggling. In this Interview, Dr Michael Wimmer, a renowned political scientist, offers an overview of this sector’s current situation and future challenges. An industry that he predicts will permanently change due to the pandemic’s wave of digitisation.

Although the Democrats did win the presidency, the majority in the Senate will be determined only next January. At stake is the ability to pass laws and enact the political reform that Joe Biden campaigned on. Four perpetual political themes will determine if the Democrats are successful in January and beyond.

With the blog-series “Corona & Society”, Das Progressive Zentrum joins the debate on what society and politics can learn from the crisis, both politically and conceptually.

Responding to the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe, massive mobility restrictions were imposed in the Schengen area. While the internal Schengen border controls have mostly been lifted, the uncoordinated national reopening of its external borders have led to a patchwork of border regulations. An original analysis of the unilateral steps taken by Schengen states to reopen borders to third countries is presented here. In order to avoid any serious damage to the functioning of the EU borderless area, members need to stick to common rules and act in together, rather than in a single-handed fashion.

Will Donald Trump be re-elected the President of the United States? With the party conventions around the corner, the head-to-head race is moving into top gear. The strategies that each candidate will implement are now coming into fruition. What can we expect from the campaigns and what will be the winning combination of strategy and policy?

Robert D. Atkinson calls for a transformative stimulus package in the aftermath of the corona crisis. The founder and president of the Washington, D.C. based think tank for innovation and technology policy sketches how governments can use the current window of opportunity for shaping resilient, inclusive, and sustainable economies and societies.

A delegation of trade unionists from the United States visited Das Progressive Zentrum for a roundtable encouraging the transatlantic dialogue and cooperation on a just transition.

While the European Parliament elections near, politics in Poland is at such a crux that the later parliamentary polls there will have wide reverberations.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is challenging the future of work. Technological change and automation risk making jobs redundant. But the naysayers are wrong. Automation doesn’t mean the end of work – we just need to get ready for the changes on the horizon.

The platform economy reinforces current labour market trends, enhancing inequalities and opening the door to discrimination. It lacks sustainability and poses a threat to the environment. But it does not mean the ‘end of employment’ – if companies and regulators take action.

How can progressive politics create innovative public policy able to engage with the challenges of work in the digital age? Das Progressive Zentrum’s Policy Fellows Max Neufeind and Florian Ranft as well as Jacqueline O’Reilly are the editors of the book “Work in the Digital Age” and urge us to update, recharge and reload the concept of work in society to make it fit for the fourth industrial revolution.

Spain has been facing many challenges similar to those of other EU countries. In contrast to the rest of the continent, however, Eurosceptic parties failed to attract popular support. Héctor Sánchez Margalef explains the reasons for this exception and why it may not last forever.

The mainstream media have framed Italy’s general election as a victory of the anti-establishment populists. However, there seems to be something even worse than pure populism: fraud.

Only a few months ago the Myth Martin Schulz seemed to have pulled the Social Democratic Party out of their ongoing plight. A glance at the outcomes of the most recent state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia however, seem to indicate otherwise. Yet, how significant are the outcomes of the state elections for the future of the party on a national level? Or has the proclaimed “Schulz-Effekt” already worn off?

The Länder election in the Saarland is a dampener for the SPD. Nevertheless, Martin Schulz is bringing hope to the center-left all over Europe. The former president of the European Parliament is benefitting from the fact that the EU is seen as an increasingly positive issue in Germany. To remain successful, he must make tough policy choices and answer questions on how the SPD will finance its promises. 

Recent change of government in Poland mobilised many people, the spectrum of civil engagement is however polarised: from defenders of liberal values and adherents of conservative agenda to followers of nationalist resentments.

Brendan Simms in the New Statesman Magazine about possible trajectories of the European Union after the Brexit.

The negative implications of inequality are manifold. While devastating for individuals at the bottom of the ladder, evidence also shows that an unequal society causes the economy as a whole to suffer.

In summarizing the results of last year’s parliamentary elections in Poland I briefly mentioned that “the rule of Catholic conservatives might stand in opposition to respecting the rights of women “. It took less than a year for this prophecy to come true. Thousands of women in Poland are joining Black Protests to demonstrate against the newest radical anti-abortion law proposal.

Right wing parties offer solid ground in the vertigo of change. If the Left fails to define identity in progressive terms, the Right will do it in nativist terms, and that will be the end of Europe.