Buscar

The role of the European political parties, often under-estimated in the past, has increased significantly over the years. Today, they are important coordinators within the EU political system, carrying out a variety of activities that can be classified conceptually as ‘vertical’, ‘horizontal’ and ‘diagonal’ coordination. This EPRS study explores the growing 'politicisation' of the European Council and the increased coordination role which European political parties appear to play in the context ...

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE and AFCO Committees, offers a comprehensive and critical assessment of the European Commission’s Annual Rule of Law Report. It does so in a broad and holistic manner by assessing this new monitoring tool in light of the EU’s Article 2 TEU monitoring and enforcement architecture. Multiple recommendations are offered in order to remedy the serious gaps and ...

Since the rise of al Qaeda and, most recently, ISIL/Da'esh, the term jihad has become a ubiquitous part of public discourse on terrorism and radical Islam. Although jihad does not constitute one of the 'Five Pillars' of Muslim faith, many consider it to be a duty of the Muslim community as a whole. It is therefore important to understand the origins of the term as well as its religious and political evolution: from jihad (different kinds of religiously inspired efforts) to jihadism (a modern ideology ...

The Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is an exceptional case study in that the Palestinians inhabit an occupied territory and the project of state-building is still in the making1. One cannot appreciate the extent of the dire situation in the OPT without bearing this in mind. Since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 and the Arab-Israeli war of 1967, Palestinians have undergone massively destabilising and profound uncertainties about their political identities.2 The Palestinian dilemma ...