New article for TEC on why Europe needs to outspend authoritarians if it wants democracy to survive europeancorrespondent.com/en/r/democra...

Viktor Orbán is gone – but the threat that the far right poses to the EU is far from over. A new #EuropeanPolicyQuartet on the state of play in the EU’s struggle against member states’ democratic backsliding. With MANUEL MÜLLER, JULIAN PLOTTKA, and SOPHIE PORNSCHLEGEL #Orbán #EUvalues #Art2TEU

So looks like the rumored US "democracy promotion" funding may be indeed coming. Unclear how much but if the available ballpark is $1-200M that's not peanuts. CERV's expected civil society funding in the next MFF is ~€500M/year. (h/t @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social) foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/01/s...

How to ensure that democracy is not an afterthought in the EU: New position paper on democracy support in the next EU budget for FIDE & @alliance4europe.bsky.social drive.google.com/file/d/1GoRA...

New op-ed in @theeuropeancorreit.bsky.social on how the authoritarian threat could hollow out EU institutions, and why we urgently need more contingency planning. europeancorrespondent.com/en/r/crisis-...

Ha, that "vegetarian vs omnivorous" talk reminds me of my own very beautifully composed #Europasaurus metaphor, which was duly deconstructed by @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social, @nhelwig.bsky.social and Julian Plottka in a #EuropeanPolicyQuartet last year 😅

And another Substack post! I need to get better at sharing these things. This one is about the comments made by several artists at Berlinale, saying that they are 'apolitical', as if politics was an insult - and what this says about our times. substack.com/home/post/p-...

New Substack post! A reflection on the state of liberal elites, which inspired me to go back to Bourdieu's concept of 'hysteresis' (rather than the now heavily over-quoted Gramsci about the 'times of monsters'): substack.com/home/post/p-...

Erst letztes Wochenende fand die Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz statt, mit einer Rede von Marco Rubio. Die US-amerikanische Regierung betont, Europa „verteidigen“ zu wollen – damit ist vor allem eine paternalistische Einmischung in unsere Politik gemeint. /1

#servicepost: I am French AND German - both at the same time! And I speak both language, too! Crazy! (btw: this is pretty common & I had no choice.) That said: Please don't assume someone's nationality based on a name. Also, that does *not* make me a pol. rep. of these countries. Ok, thank you!

It was time for a new Substack post, this time on a certain narrative that I've heard a little too often lately. lnkd.in/eQ4MSgsk

Last week I participated in an AI reflection group & one of the things I appreciated most was that we weren't asked to share our analysis, but to formulate questions. So here I am sharing a few questions that crossed my mind recently, mostly linked to European sovereignty. /1

I get why people desperately want to feel reassured by this. But it would be incredibly naive to think this is the final word on the possibility of military invasion. Don't let European leaders use this as an excuse to weasel out of doing anything to defend their citizens from 🇺🇸.

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California called global leaders "pathetic" on Tuesday for failing to stand up to President Trump amid his push to acquire Greenland, saying that Europeans needed to have a "backbone." Follow live updates from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. trib.al/lDW2vIl

When peace means war and freedom of speech means censorship 🤪 Angela Merkel: "Language, so to speak, is the precursor to action. Once language has gone off the rails, action soon follows suit. Violence is then not far away." www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Wirklich ein wichtiger Beitrag, der leider nicht weniger relevant geworden ist angesichts der erstarkenden politischen Kräften, die die EU abschaffen möchten. (Ich durfte damals mit Hintergrundinfos beigetragen). www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxWf...

Back to work! Here's my 2025 professional review on LinkedIn - including relevant papers and op-eds I wrote last year and what I will focus on in 2026. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

✨ Happy new year! ✨ So sometimes around Christmas I realised that I got quite a few followers on here, but somehow only post on LinkedIn. So I'll try to be a little more active on here this year. Starting with my 2025 review of books :) open.substack.com/pub/sophiepo...

Was just mentioning this deal in a briefing earlier as an example of how to give up leverage to a bully. I hope the UK government will not give in to the US - and find other ways of rekindling its economy rather than selling it out to US big tech without them paying taxes and respecting laws.

Very interesting development in UK/US relations... The US has paused its promised £31bn investment into British tech over trade disagreements, marking a serious setback - by @ecourea.bsky.social 👇 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Der (europäische) Föderalist, most-read articles in 2025 4 With a new German government incoming, the implications for Europe are substantial By SOPHIE PORNSCHLEGEL and SOPHIA RUSSACK @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social #BTW25

🚨 Vacancies at Maastricht in research programme "Europe: Society, Politics and Global Order" (do share!) - Assistant Prof Political Philosophy in Euro Democracy - Assistant Prof Euro Political History - PostDoc Disinformation and Euro Democracy vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/search/?crea...

D(e)F, meistgelesene Artikel 2025 10 Das europapolitische Quartett: Jenseits des Westens – die neue Rolle der EU in der Weltpolitik Mit NIKLAS HELWIG, MANUEL MÜLLER, JULIAN PLOTTKA und SOPHIE PORNSCHLEGEL @nhelwig.bsky.social @manuelmueller.foederalist.eu @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social

I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1

This story should be covered waaaaayy more than it is. The US has sanctioned six judges if the international criminal court ICC, because Trump didn’t like them issuing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...

In May, @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social, @nhelwig.bsky.social, Julian Plottka, and I discussed on @foederalist.eu whether the US was becoming more authoritarian, less influential, or both. Well, it's both.

📄 Read the full paper by @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social here: www.liberties.eu/en/stories/d...

📌 However, as @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social points out, democracy funding is far from guaranteed. The Budget will land on the Ministry of Finance, and it will be voted on anonymously. Democracy is THE European public good: without it, nothing else works. @dpzberlin.bsky.social

This afternoon our attention turns to a key issue facing Europe: how to depolarise politics and society. With Martin Westlake in the chair, Sophie Pornschlegel, Vassilis Kessidis, and Richard Corbett shared their thoughts. @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social @richardcorbett.bsky.social

Wirtschaftliche Instabilität, US-Zölle, Verteidigung und Sicherheit … es gibt viel zu tun in Europa 🇪🇺 Wie die aktuelle Regierungskrise in Frankreich zum Problem werden könnte, erklärt Policy Fellow @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social im Interview ⬇️ www.ardmediathek.de/video/Y3JpZD...

Multiannual Financial Framework: Many plans requiring funding By SOPHIE PORNSCHLEGEL @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social

Due to a technical mishap, @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social 's contribution on the #MFF was missing when our compilation of #SOTEU25 short analyses went online yesterday. Added now, please have a look!

What do dinosaurs, post-colonial studies, US tech bros, a global supranational union and climate change have in common? They all feature in our latest #EuropeanPolicyQuartet! 👇

@bahn.de warum tut ihr noch so, als könntet ihr bis nach Zürich durchfahren, wenn alle wissen, dass die Schweizer das nicht mehr erlauben aufgrund eurer Verspätungen? Wär vllt mal Zeit, etwas ehrlicher zu sein. (Zürich wurde ab Offenburg erst durchgestrichen…) www.sueddeutsche.de/reise/deutsc...

Repost from LinkedIn - I’m mostly posting my thoughts there. www.linkedin.com/posts/sophie...

We're hiring! I'll be co-supervising a PhD at Utrecht University on the global governance of socially disruptive technologies. Political philosophy/ethics project focused on legitimacy & good governance. More info: edu.nl/9admd Deadline: June 3, 2025 (apologies for the short notice!)

And let’s give Trump a prize for his efforts to protect democracy and human rights, right? 🤡🤡🤡

„As many as 14,000 babies in Gaza could die in 48 hours if aid does not reach them in time, the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, warned. Fletcher said five trucks of aid went into Gaza yesterday but described this as a “drop in the ocean”“

In response to Gaza offensive, EU will review its relations with Israel after a majority of countries (17/27) voted to request a probe from President von der Leyen. Germany, Italy, Hungary, Greece, Cyprus, Czechia, Croatia, Bulgaria & Lithuania voted against.

Image of library book display labeled: “It's A Warning Not An Instruction Manual.” Books on display: • On Tyranny • Twenty Lessons From The 21st Century • 1984 • A Handmaids Tale • Diary of Anne Frank • Parable of The Sower • Fahrenheit 451 • Animal Farm • Brave New World ~TAiLS of a Bookworm

Thank you to @euromovescotland.bsky.social for inviting @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social to your Europe Day Festival! 👉 Read here the full speech she gave on the importance of democracy and countering the far-right in the EU : www.europejacquesdelors.eu/news/defendi...

Amazing discussions taking place Saturday/Sunday at the @festivalofeurope.bsky.social featuring @stephengethins.bsky.social @tanjabueltmann.net @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social @alynsmith.bsky.social @angusrobertson.bsky.social @clareadamsonmsp.bsky.social 🎟 festivalofeuropescotland.org/whats-on/

At the defending European democracy session of @festivalofeurope.bsky.social @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social of @delorseurope.bsky.social said the EU can help defend democracy while @tanjabueltmann.net reminded us to challenge populist narratives on migration & tell stronger pro-migration stories

Im #Koalitionsvertrag von CDU/CSU und SPD kommt das Wort #Schengen kein einziges Mal vor. Und bei #Grenzkontrollen sehen die Parteien die "Europäische Gemeinschaft" in der Pflicht - die es schon seit Lissabon 2009 nicht mehr gibt. Hat da eigentlich mal irgendjemand mit EU-Erfahrung drübergeschaut?

🚨BREAKING: HUNGARY QUITS THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT ON WEDNESDAY—just as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted by the ICC for war crimes & crimes against humanity, arrives in Budapest to meet Viktor Orbán. First reported by RFE/RL, confirmed to me at @vsquare.bsky.social by diplomatic sources.

🟢 After last week's #EUCO, EU leaders reaffirmed support for Ukraine – without Hungary, as Orbán keeps vetoing & forcing shady trade-offs. 🏛️ The rule of law isn’t a bargaining chip. EU values must not be instrumentalised. 💡 Read @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social's study 👉 eu.boell.org/en/democrati...

Der Regierungswechsel in Deutschland wird erhebliche Auswirkungen auf Europa haben. SOPHIE PORNSCHLEGEL und SOPHIA RUSSACK analysieren, was von den #Koalitionsverhandlungen zwischen CDU/CSU und SPD zu erwarten ist. @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social

🇩🇪 Germany’s 2025 election marks a conservative shift with big impact on #EuropeanPolitics. 🇪🇺  We explored the effects on migration, security & the economy with @egheidbreder.bsky.social, @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social & @mariaskora.bsky.social in our latest 🔗 tinyurl.com/LunchDebateBundestagwahl

🟢 The Qatargate scandal in 2022 revealed the extent of corruption within the EU institutions. If the EU wants to be a credible defender of #democracy, it must start by putting its own houses in order 🏛️⚖️ 💡 Read more in @sophiepornschlegel.bsky.social's study 👉 eu.boell.org/en/democrati... #EUCO

I wouldn’t call that a major split, @politico.com - I’d say that was ‘Hungary isolated in opposing deal on arming Ukraine’.