ABSTRACT This paper presents the key findings of research examining the political discourse on ‘European historical memory’ as it is constructed and transformed in the European Parliament within the context of EU memory politics. Situated at the intersection of political sociology, memory studies, and European studies, the investigation adopts an actor-centred perspective and examines the mobilisation dynamics and forms of memory entrepreneurship underlying the construction of such discourse through specific interpretative categories. Among these, the concept of intra-institutional memory activism – both an analytical lens and the main interpretative result of the research. The research adopts a qualitative approach and triangulates different methods and sources, including semi-structured interviews, document collection, and institutional fieldwork, focusing on the analysis of two case studies: the production of two parliamentary resolutions adopted during the 9th legislature (2019–2024).

ABSTRACT Many regions across the globe have experienced a significant rise in the number of displaced individuals seeking refuge and asylum. Europe has faced growing inflows of refugees due to its proximity to Africa and Asia, which are key sources of large migration waves. This study investigates the impact of refugee inflows on political stability, economic growth, and both military and civilian expenditures across 35 European countries over the period 2000–2024. The analysis focuses on European regions directly affected by refugee movements, as well as northern European countries, while accounting for key events related to the issue. The results suggest that refugee flows can heighten security concerns, leading to increased defense spending, while also revealing some negative effects on the host country’s GDP growth and political stability.

ABSTRACT In the years between 2000 and 2022, thick security weakened and left European nationstates vulnerable to political, economic, and cultural ruptures with no organizational fallback in sight. A ‘post-security’ polity emerged that lacked the institutions that guarded security in the past. Post-security implies the absence of security mechanisms, not the absence of a need for security. The post-security polity privileges markets and peoples that cross borders, fosters austerity that threatens solidarity, and supports multicultural inclusion at the expense of nationalist exclusion. Security encapsulates what others have analyzed in terms of trust and risk. Explaining the ascendance of the nationalist right in terms of a security crisis is a more robust way of thinking of current events than explanations that focus on conceptions of cultural identity or purely economistic explanations. In contrast to the past where security issues were national, contemporary security issues such as climate change, disease, migration, terrorism, and finance are transnational in scope. The globalization of security and its opposites – insecurity, threats, and fears – raise questions of responsibility and render contemporary security crises less tractable of solutions. Right nationalists have stepped into the void with simple solutions to difficult problems that require complex and transnational solutions.

ABSTRACT This study delves into the third space, profoundly shaped by the radical cultural turn and poststructuralist ethos of the 1970s, functioning as a liminal, intermediary zone between binaries such as self/other, center/margin, in/out, and colonizer/colonized. Beyond the realm of multiculturalism, cultural hybridity emerges as a metamorphic process within the dichotomy of ‘modifier’ and ‘modified’, introducing a new paradigm of identity transformation. The intensity of intervention into the ontological fabric of local identities, or the response of local identities to such intrusions, fundamentally determines the impact of cultural hybridity. By exploring the concepts of reluctant and compatible hybrids, this study elucidates the complexities of transitioning to the third hybrid space within the framework of EU integration. The primary inquiry examines the extent to which Serbia and Croatia will, or will not, conform to the European identity throughout the EU integration process, offering insights into the dynamic interplay between local and European identities.

ABSTRACT Across Europe, rising discontent fuels parties that either rail against corrupt elites or reject democratic institutions altogether. Yet these two orientations, anti-elite and anti-system, are often conflated, leaving unanswered why some citizens call for leadership change while others demand systemic rupture. This article addresses that puzzle through the Czech Republic, a case marked by both types of protest actors and a dense alternative media ecosystem. Using survey data from 2020 (N = 807) and structural equation modelling (SEM), we disentangle how demographics, dissatisfaction, and alternative media consumption shape these distinct forms of political protest. The results reveal a striking divide: older men, shaped by post-1989 democratic experience, lean toward anti-elite parties like ANO, whereas younger, less educated, and non-religious voters gravitate toward anti-system parties such as SPD and KSČM. Political-economic dissatisfaction pushes voters toward systemic rejection, while alternative media amplify this pathway, eroding elite-focused criticism and legitimising anti-system views. The study contributes a clear conceptual distinction between anti-elite and anti-system politics, shows how alternative media act as a catalyst of radicalisation, and demonstrates why the Czech case speaks to broader debates on populism, legitimacy, and the future of democracy.

ABSTRACT This article examines how religious leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), as non-state actors in a post-conflict setting, construct their perceptions of the European society as an out-group in the context of European Union (EU) integration. Drawing on Social Identity Theory (SIT), this study investigates how religious and socio-political identities intersect to shape attitudes towards EU enlargement. Building on recent research that emphasizes identity flexibility, this study expands SIT by exploring how the in-group actively perceives the European society as a superior, yet compatible and aspirational, out-group. Through social comparison, Bosnian religious leaders articulate favorable perceptions of the European society grounded in a shared Christian heritage, common European geography, and a lived tradition of pluralism. Based on 26 semi-structured interviews across Bosnia’s three major religious traditions, this study offers new insights into how post-conflict identity negotiations enable inclusive narratives of belonging. It contributes to debates on identity politics in EU enlargement by demonstrating how religious leaders foster positive out-group perceptions. These findings provide a nuanced understanding of how perceptions of the European society are socially constructed and offer insights into EU integration strategies, particularly by showing how local religious actors can align narratives of belonging with European values and traditions.

ABSTRACT This article explores how minority news media report on borders and Europe during moments of perceived crisis across five European borderland contexts: in Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Slovakia. Specifically, we investigate the role of key de- and re-bordering events, including the 2015 so-called ‘migration crisis’ and the COVID-19 pandemic, in shaping perceptions of borders and the European project. Recent re-bordering events have been seen to pose a threat to borderland communities, and national minorities, specifically. The empirical data are based on a thematic analysis of 1,705 news articles from six minority newspapers. Through the analysis, we develop an understanding of how national minority newspapers report on borders, and how Europe and the European Union (EU) are framed within reporting. The analysis uncovers how border narratives relate to the wider EU project, and reveals that open borders are of particular importance to borderland communities, who feel increasingly detached from state-level decision makers. Our findings point to a banal expression of Europeanism in borderland regions where we expected stronger connections with Europe and the EU. These findings lead us to hypothesize on the future of the European project and highlight the often-invisible perspective of national minorities in border and European studies.

ABSTRACT The article examines how the Belarusian opposition-in-exile strategically adapts its messaging to secure international support from ideologically diverse actors. Utilising framing theory and a multi-method approach, it explores how the opposition tailors its discourse depending on the political contexts and audiences. Communications directed towards EU institutions emphasise liberal democratic values such as human rights, gender equality, and the rule of law. In contrast, messaging tailored for Polish stakeholders downplays progressive themes and accentuates conservative and security-focused narratives, such as religious heritage and regional stability. The findings show that this normative pragmatism, expressed through flexible frame alignment, allows the opposition to navigate conflicting normative expectations, maintain political legitimacy and relevance, and build cross-ideological alliances without alienating strategically important partners.

ABSTRACT This article examines the complex landscape of digital sovereignty in the WB states against the backdrop of the technological rivalry between the US and China and the region’s EU accession. A double analytical lens is introduced to analyse digital sovereignty: ‘sovereignty over’ and ‘sovereignty through’. The article shows that WB states are not merely passive recipients of external technological initiatives. Instead, they are portrayed as opportunistic and sometimes strategic actors operating within digital dependencies. Their technological choices are shaped by formal policy frameworks, market forces, and institutional capacities, with a focus on cost efficiency. In particular, the paper analyses the interplay between China’s Digital Silk Road and the US-led Clean Network Initiative in the region. It shows that some WB states join US pressure to ban Chinese technologies (e.g. Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo), while others (e.g. Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina) maintain cooperation with Chinese digital companies, often for pragmatic reasons. Ultimately, the article argues that digital sovereignty in the Western Balkans is a function of technological and institutional capacity, geopolitical pressure, discursive framing and strategic adaptation by local actors, which raises the question of whether their hedging strategies truly represent digital sovereignty or illustrate a permanent lack of it.