By Mette Wiggen, Lecturer, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds
The social democrat Mette Frederiksen won Denmark’s 2019 elections on a platform of radical reforms to reach climate targets, lowering the pension age for manual workers – and stricter migration policies.
Denmark has some of the strictest asylum legislation in Europe. The country grants only temporary asylum to refugees, regardless of their need for protection. It has tightened laws on family reunion, and introduced policies focused on prioritising deportation, rather than integration.
Frederiksen has justified such policies by pitting the challenges of immigration against…
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By Emily Wilkinson, Principal Research Fellow, ODI Global
Kira-Lee Gmeiner, Political Science PhD Candidate, Monash University
Few diplomatic organisations punch above their weight quite like the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis). With no fixed budget, no permanent secretariat and no formal charter, it has still managed to shape some of the most important climate agreements of the past few decades – including the 1.5°C target that underpins the Paris agreement.
Founded in 1990, Aosis represents 39 small island and low-lying coastal states. Its members are among…
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By Peter Lee, Professor of Applied Ethics and Director, Security and Risk Research, University of Portsmouth
Ishmael Bhila, Lecturer and Research Associate, Media Sociology, University of Paderborn
Jens Hälterlein, Research Associate, Media Sociology, University of Paderborn
Violations of national airspace by drones are on the rise in Europe. When European leaders discussed these events at a meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October 2025, they responded by announcing plans for a defensive “drone wall”.
So what is a drone wall? Put simply, it is a network of sensors, electronic warfare equipment and weapons. This “multi-layered” defensive wall is intended to detect, track and neutralise incursions…
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By Matthew Pound, Associate Professor in Physical Geography, Northumbria University, Newcastle
Sadaat Yawar, Assistant Professor, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle
Shanfeng Hu, Assistant Professor, Computer and Information Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle
Almost half of honey imports to Europe have been flagged as suspicious. From sugar syrups to fake origins, honey fraud is big business.
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By Ignacio López-Goñi, Catedrático de Microbiología. Miembro de la Sociedad Española de Microbiología (SEM), Universidad de Navarra
On November 13, Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food imposed the confinement of all free-range poultry farms to curb the spread of avian influenza – more commonly known as “bird flu” – caused by the H5N1 virus. This drastic, though not unprecedented, measure was justified by climbing numbers of outbreaks in Europe, as well as the heightened risk posed by the southward migration of wild birds in Europe.
This type of news understandably…
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By Scott Schieman, Professor of Sociology and Canada Research Chair, University of Toronto
Alexander Wilson, PhD Student, Sociology, University of Toronto
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By Carolina Pichardo
The functions of three institutions, linked by the common denominator of environmental protection, complement one another in the pursuit of environmental crimes which, though frequent, are also more frequently reported.
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By Amnesty International
Responding to today’s decision by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal to sentence former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death after convicting them in absentia of crimes against humanity, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said: “Those individually responsible for the egregious violations and allegations of crimes against humanity that took place […] The post Bangladesh: Justice for victims of 2024 massacre not served by death sentence against Sheikh Hasina appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Chairman of the EPP Group, Manfred Weber (C), during a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, October 6, 2025. © 2025 Philipp von Ditfurth/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo On November 13, a European Parliament majority sold out rights protections to corporate interests in the course of negotiating amendments to the European Union’s landmark Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). It ripped through years of efforts to build comprehensive legislation that holds corporations accountable for human rights and environmental abuses…
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By Nick Kotucha, ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Warwick
The financial crisis of 2008 left deep scars on the British economy. The average UK household is now estimated to be 16% poorer than it would have been had that crisis never occurred.
Given that average annual household income is around £55,200, this suggests each one is losing out to…
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