Happy 200th Birthday UCL! Today, 200 years ago, we established the UK’s first secular alternative to the established religious universities. UCL were first to admit students regardless of religion or social background, and the first to welcome women into higher education alongside men.

A question that lingers at every crossing, every threshold of the city 🏙️ The pop-up is currently in Düsseldorf with the until the end of February! Come and take a look! Read the full European Literary Map of London entry: www.europeanliterarylondon.org/feature/3902...

People in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland see the ECHR’s positive impact on security co-operation and their day-to-day lives as far outweighing its impact on their country’s ability to deport illegal migrants👇 🔗 yougov.co.uk/internationa... via @yougov.co.uk

The Lost & Found exhibition brought to life at the alumni gathering, connecting stories and communities! 🗺️ #LostAndFound #UCLEurope #UCLAlumni #EuropeanLiteraryLondon

We are delighted to be launching a truly exceptional year of #UCL200 events with the 75th Annual Bentham Association Presidential Address, delivered by Professor Sir John Baker KC, UCL alumnus and Honorary Fellow: 📅 Wednesday 18 February | 6pm | UCL 🎟️ Secure your place: tinyurl.com/ycxnkf9r

Check out our #NewBooks display on the Ground Floor of the Library! 📚📚📚😊

For the FES, I wrote a short brief about how mainstream party strategies have fueled far-right success. They move toward more anti-immigration positions to win voters back. This does not work, but shifts public opinion to the right. Parties then react to shifts in public opinion. A vicious cycle.

Wow, the narrative is finally changing, also thanks to you! @politico.eu unveils that a powerful push from industry and some national governments, amplified by the Draghi Report, has been used to justify rolling back democratic safeguards and standards in the EU. www.politico.eu/article/brus...

Quick reminder: apply for up to £ 9,500 for an academic event in any field pertaining to Jewish Studies New feature: Student Members of the European Association for Jewish Studies now can apply for funding for Graduate Conference! Check out the details in the link below.

'A new report by the British Council has found that Scotland has an “excellent foundation” for language learning compared to the rest of the UK, but raises concerns about a number of "structural barriers" to further progress.' 1/3

LFI est de "gauche radicale populiste". Mais si le PS est de "gauche", LFI ne peut pas l'être aussi, car elle revendique une "rupture". Or, le ministère de l'intérieur ne reconnait pas la catégorie "gauche radicale". Cela ne va pas aider JLM à gagner le 2e tour... www.ouest-france.fr/elections/mu...

Brilliant to connect with so many outstanding alumni, including two former @uclspp.bsky.social students we taught on our European Politics and Policy in Practice module - now making a career in Brussels.

In Russia, politics became a stage: tricksters wield power, spectacle, and reality itself. From Zhirinovsky to Prigozhin, nothing is off-limits. Read the full blog by Prof Mark Lipovetsky, Columbia University on the UCL Europe Blog. ucleuropeblog.com/2026/02/03/t...

Professor @profgeraintrees.bsky.social is leading a @ucl.ac.uk delegation to connect with partners, stakeholders and alumni across mainland Europe this week. We will share highlights from the visit — partnerships, policy conversations and collaboration in action. #UCLEurope

Happy February! 📖 This month with the International English Library: www.international-library.de/events/lost-... Join this evening for the launch event 🥂

If Orban loses the election in Hungary on April 12th to Peter Magyar it’s going to be massive for Europe and the entire democratic world. Orban largely created the populist-right formula for autocratic takeover of a democracy which was copied by MAGA’s Project 2025. 1/12

Lost & Found is travelling to Düsseldorf next week! Discover the full programme: www.ucl.ac.uk/european-ins...

🗺️ Next week ‼️ Lost & Found: A European Literary Map of London is popping up in Düsseldorf this February! Alongside the exhibition, there will be a series of talks and events. Take a look at the full programme: www.international-library.de/events/lost-... @europeanlitlondon.bsky.social

Masterclass on Interest Representation & Lobbying in EU Digital Policymaking 💻 Via a simulated ‘Digital Simplification Package,’ students role-played tech firms, industry & civil society to negotiate EU rules. @ucleisps.bsky.social #EUpolitics #DigitalPolicy #EUGovernance #InterestGroups

This Wednesday!

We are pleased to announce the first publication from the latest research conducted by the @uclholocaust.bsky.social It can be downloaded for free from: holocausteducation.org.uk/research/80-years/ @andypearce.bsky.social @arthurjchapman.bsky.social @eddorrell.bsky.social

ECHR Reform: A Danger of Contagion in Relation to Article 3 Veronika Fikfak from @uclspp.bsky.social on the propsed changes to the ECHR. ukconstitutionallaw.org/2025/12/09/v...

'Two major issues are worth highlighting. First, there is no such thing as a single TNE model, and the financial margins differ markedly depending on the host country and the teaching model.' 1/3

📚 UCL SSEES Library Academic Book Display — International Day of Education 2026 📚 Celebrating learning and area studies at SSEES with titles across history, politics, culture, language, and more. 📱 Scan the QR code to explore UCL Press e-books by SSEES academic staff.

a footnote to this discussion is that the EP acquired the power to request these opinions from the CJEU only in 2003, along with the general power to request the annulment of EU legislation

An exceptional speech: 👇 "We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn’t mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy, but we believe that from the fracture we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just. This is the task of the middle powers (...)." globalnews.ca/news/1162087...

"Unparalleled global impact on #peace." Today's book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @martkuldkepp.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

You can read a free chapter of Defending the Political Constitution here: fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/...

📢 New paper alert: How does war shape democratic values? Conflict exposure and democratic values: Evidence from wartime Ukraine by @kristinmbakke.bsky.social, Marianne Dahl & Kit Rickard. 📖 Published in the @jpeaceresearch.bsky.social special issue on Political Violence in Democracies. 👇🧵

Apologies for being self-referential but

The CfP is out for a great annual PhD student workshop run out of our department: www.conflictandchange.org/phdworkshop2...

Off and on it

Winter Programme 2025-26 for our seminar on Europe & the World @ihr.bsky.social ! Mondays, 17:30 (UK time). Everybody very welcome, in Bloomsbury or on zoom. All info and forms to get the zoom links here: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/... #EarlyModern #SkyStorians

"As security concerns rise and reliance on Washington comes under scrutiny, EU membership is increasingly discussed in Reykjavik not as an economic choice, but as a question of long-term defence and geopolitical alignment." Hardly suprising www.euractiv.com/news/trumps-...

It’s deeply moving to see Shapeshifters—my text about cancer, war, womanhood, and transformation—published in a beautiful Ukrainian translation by Mariia Bahrii in Reporters. Links to the original text and the Ukrainian translation are below. Illustrations: Bohdana Rudenko. Photos: Nicola Roper.

For those no longer checking X (which I have to do for work) also note the French Foreign Ministry now has an official "French Response" Accounts which posts uncensored, wild and meme-y.

Announcing the inaugural lecture of UCL Laws' Oliver Gerstenberg, Professor of EU Law and Legal Theory. 🇪🇺 📢 EU Values, Liberal Dialogue, and the Changing Role of the Court of Justice of the EU 📅 5 February 2026 | ⏰ 6pm | 📍 Hybrid Book now: tinyurl.com/ykhkuhkv

UCL Laws is marking 200 years of legal education in 2026, and as part of the celebrations we have launched a digital hub that celebrates the Faculty's past, present and future. ⚖️ 🏛️ 🌟 Explore the UCL200 at Laws hub, including interviews, photos, our events programme and more! ➡️ tinyurl.com/3wv2ybun

Disappointing that Gramsci didn’t really write of a “time of monsters” (very, very loose translation it seems) but “morbid/pathological phenomena”. Still, this supposed quote has had me reaching for The Prison Notebooks.

Russia launched a mass attack on Ukraine overnight with drones and missiles, hitting Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Vinnytsia and Poltava. The left bank of Kyiv lost power and heat in over 5,600 buildings. One person was killed near Bucha. Ukraine reports the first use of Russia’s new Iskander-I missile.

The British Academy’s Global (Dis)Order programme couldn’t be more timely. Link here: www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/programmes/g...?

390 MEPs vote against the motion of censure today. Unlike the Mercosur vote yesterday, this shows that the large groups of the centre are still behind von der Leyen, and also tired of the regular motion of censure votes.

As @ucl.ac.uk deepens its engagement with Europe, the @uclei.bsky.social is a vital hub that connects our experts with partners, policymakers and the public. This Annual Review offers a thoughtful overview of what that looks like in practice. #UCLEurope

If you aren't fed up to the back teeth with 2025, you can listen to what @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social researchers thought were its key themes. And if you just want to see the back of this year, you can hear our thoughts on what's coming up next.

An article that brings you back to the good old days of Brexit with its warped and at times strange arguments. I have a question at the end, so please bear with me, but I'll highlight some examples: /1

well, well, well if it isn't the book I started working on in 2017: academic.oup.com/book/61769

Our Annual Review 2024/25 is here! 👇 From policy to culture, the European Institute spent 2024–25 connecting experts, shaping debate, and bringing research to life across Europe. Read the full review: www.ucl.ac.uk/european-ins...

Much to be critical on how last night's EU decision on a loan to Ukraine came about. But together with the use of Art. 122 on the Russian loans the way via Enhanced Cooperation shows that on foreign policy, the EU is willing to move from Unity to Action as its guiding principle.

Last month, UCL and the French Embassy brought together an expert panel of scientists, diplomats and industry representatives 🌍 By Dr. Friederike Hartz, Research/Policy Associate, UCL Grand Challenge of the Climate Crisis. Reposted: Disruptive Voices blog. ucleuropeblog.com/2025/12/16/p...

Hanukkah celebrates both an ancient military victory and a miracle of light – modern Jews can pick from either tradition - citing @guesnet.bsky.social of @uclhjs.bsky.social theconversation.com/hanukkah-cel...