On Monday, UK Home Secretary Shabina Mahmood announced planned updates to the UK’s asylum system. Already, the debate is fracturing into its familiar trenches. On the left, some argue that it's inhumane. On the right, others claim it does not go far enough. Both miss the core point: the public has lost confidence in the current system. Any government refusing to make the system fit for purpose would be kicked out at the next election or, worse, completely wiped out.   A YouGo

For the past decade, Trump has brought the Republican Party massive success, as long as he’s on the ballot. However, during the years Trump hasn’t appeared on the ballot, the Democratic Party has used opposition to Trump and his policies to energize its base and secure significant victories. But with a President that sucks all the oxygen out of every gold-embossed room he’s in, is that still the case?

Last week, the Netherlands held a snap election and, surprisingly, returned to the mean, with the centrist-liberal D66 party—known for supporting progressive social policies and EU integration—claiming victory, while the former right-wing PVV – led by anti-Islam, nationalist ideologue Geert Wilders – lost 11 seats.

The right doesn’t need unity, only purpose. The right puts victory first and solutions later. The left wants consensus on every issue before getting elected. Compromise is still possible within the party, but compromise between the left and right is harder to achieve as they drift further apart.

The root of this feels simply un-American. To many Americans, the iconic buildings of DC are literal monuments to democracy. They are iconic because they appear to remain unchanged from administration to administration. But, like everything else, Trump has to put his touch on things. The arguments the right is making are that the White House has been altered before. That’s absolutely correct, but the spirit in which this ballroom is different. It’s set against a backdrop of e

Over the past few decades in Western democracies, the right often comes together behind one leader, while the left tends to split apart. The right focuses on gaining power, while the left looks for the perfect candidate. In the end, power is more achievable. Take the United States as an example. When Donald Trump announced his run in 2015, few thought he would become president. The Republican Party was still finding its footing after the Bush years and Obama's 2008 win, and

As someone who has studied media and politics, the past couple of weeks have been chilling. The murder of Charlie Kirk has not only been a shocking event in itself, but it has also triggered a wave of consequences that should unsettle anyone who values the First Amendment. In the aftermath, multiple people across the country—particularly at colleges and universities—have been terminated for voicing their opinions. Let’s be clear: celebrating the death of another human being i

All of this has happened before... All of this has happened before...Let’s take another jaunt across the Atlantic to another politically volatile state: France. France operates under a semi-presidential system. Emmanuel Macron was elected to his second and final term in 2022. Presidential elections are decided in two rounds, with the top two candidates advancing. While this guarantees a clear majority for the winner, it also punishes a fractured opposition. In 2022, a divided

I admit that my self-imposed goal of an article every other week this summer has...not been met. My latest reason was COVID. Like most other trends, I adopted it five years too late, but luckily, it was mild. However, as I was locked in my room and unable to hug my newly minted 8-year-old on her birthday, I was looking back fondly at when we didn't have to hide ourselves away or take special care if we were sick because life was somewhat predictable. Those wonderful days of y

There was a time when Centrism, and by extent the center-left and center-right, ruled by default. In the postwar West, it was less an ideology than an atmosphere or a sense that institutions could be trusted, that compromise was honorable, and that most people, most of the time, wanted politics to stay out of the headlines. It was the domain of Eisenhower and Attlee, as well as Clinton and Blair. Centrism was the product of broad coalitions and mass media consensus. But that

Musk has a slight image issue. Musk has a slight image issue.What do Elon Musk and Donald Trump have in common? They're both failing at the thing they used to do best: branding. In politics, one’s “brand” is becoming increasingly important. By brand, I don’t just mean the logo on one’s campaign sign (but thankfully, people have put more thought into that since 2008). In design, the brand is everything about your corporate image. It goes beyond the logo and the colors used on

Now we come to the United Kingdom. For the past decade, I've been infatuated with British politics. From the Shakespearean tragedy of Brexit to the rise and fall of Johnson (and Truss), it's been an Oscar-winning level of drama. The 2025 United Kingdom local elections have unveiled a significant transformation in the nation's political landscape, characterized by the precipitous decline of the Conservative Party and the concurrent rise of Reform UK. While many commentators we

Returning Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Returning Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Next up on our electoral round-up is Australia.  The land down under is also the land of compulsory voting, giving Australia a phenomenal voter turnout of over 90% (and if you don't vote, you face an A$20 fine).  Several weeks ago, Australia went to the polls and endorsed Anthony Albanese's centre-left Australian Labor Party.  The ALP won a landslide victory and gave Albane

Apologies for the lack of French throughout... | Désolé pour le manque de français tout au long... Apologies for the lack of French throughout... | Désolé pour le manque de français tout au long... It’s been a busy week for election nerds and generally a good week for fans of liberalism.  From Ottawa to Canberra, voters selected their next governments with voters in England selecting local councilors.  Generally speaking, the centre-left prevailed with Mark Carney what was c

Full disclosure: Last week, I wrote a big, beautiful blog post on how tariffs aren't the best tool for modern economics. Then Trump did what Trump does and took credit for a good day for the stock market by reversing the policy that put it into a nosedive in the first place. So not only did I get to watch my retirement account get pummeled, but I got to do twice the work.  Here is a slight retooling. The trade wars that have always been in the background of Trump's agenda ro

Does NATO have a chance? Does NATO have a chance? From accidental group chats to America rattling its saber at Greenland, few predicted that transatlantic relations could have deteriorated this quickly, and it seems to be centerstage in the Trump Administration's "America First" policy. Dalibor Rohac from the American Enterprise Institute wrote in Politico this week about pulling back from the world stage, focusing on the soft power that will be ceded if US AID or Radio Free

There’s no shortage of Americans sharing opinions on world affairs—but how many of those opinions are genuinely informed, especially about European politics? Not enough, if you ask me (or most Europeans). As an American specializing in communications, media, and European politics, I provide insights from an outsider’s perspective to clarify the complexities shaping Europe's political landscape. I'm Michael Cunningham, an analyst trained in transatlantic affairs at the Univer