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The world from Amsterdam, by Nick Ottens

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Political Theory

Sagrada Família Barcelona Spain

Sánchez Should Offer Catalans a Federal Spain

If an independence referendum is too much to ask.

Nick OttensNick OttensAugust 1, 2023
Esteban González Pons

Spanish Conservatives Are Unlikely to Normalize Vox

Far from drawing Vox to the center, the People’s Party has been pulled to the right.

Nick OttensNick OttensJuly 14, 2023
Paris France

The Center Did Not Hold in France

What Macron’s loss means for the Fifth Republic.

Nick OttensNick OttensJune 19, 2022November 7, 2022
Barcelona Spain

What Conservative Spain Has in Common with Putin

Both are insecure.

Nick OttensNick OttensMay 12, 2022November 20, 2022
Emmanuel Macron

How Divided Government Works in France

Without a majority in the National Assembly, the president can still make foreign policy.

Nick OttensNick OttensMay 11, 2022July 5, 2022
Louvre Paris France

Two Parties May Be Better Than Three

The only thing worse than two-party polarization is permanent rule by the center.

Nick OttensNick OttensApril 29, 2022June 13, 2022
Charles de Gaulle

Three Political Traditions Explain the French Election

Charles de Gaulle’s two-party system has broken down.

Nick OttensNick OttensApril 23, 2022June 1, 2022
Joe Biden

Democrats Are Losing Touch with Middle America

Voters feel the party is drifting too far to the left.

Nick OttensNick OttensApril 22, 2022May 30, 2022
Mario Draghi

Italy Has a Draghi-Sized Problem

No one else has his authority and stature.

Nick OttensNick OttensJanuary 26, 2022February 25, 2022

How to Keep an Empire for a Thousand Years

Not through force, but by persuasion.

Nick OttensNick OttensDecember 12, 2021April 20, 2022
German parliament Berlin

Political Fragmentation Hasn’t Weakened Germany

American alarmism about coalition politics is unfounded.

Nick OttensNick OttensOctober 24, 2021April 20, 2022
Olaf Scholz

The Return of European Social Democracy

Center-left parties are winning elections again. What changed?

Nick OttensNick OttensSeptember 29, 2021April 20, 2022
Supreme Court The Hague Netherlands

Judges Need to Know Their Place

When judges behave like politicians, they weaken the judiciary.

Nick OttensNick OttensJuly 13, 2021November 5, 2021
Swedish parliament Stockholm

Political Fragmentation Isn’t the Problem

Political stability is not an end in itself. It are the outcomes that matter.

Nick OttensNick OttensJuly 8, 2021November 24, 2021
Isabel Díaz Ayuso

Trumpification of the Spanish Right in Madrid

Isabel Díaz Ayuso flirts with COVID-19 skepticism in the name of “freedom”.

Nick OttensNick OttensMay 4, 2021January 16, 2023

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