90 articles tagged with election were found.
Widespread anti-government and anti-austerity protests erupted in Bulgaria in December 2025, reflecting intense public opposition to the state’s fiscal policies, governance models, and lack of transparency in political and judicial processes, which eventually led to the resignation of the Zhelyazkov Government. The eighth round of parliamentary elections in just five years took place on April 19, 2026 and resulted in victory for Progressive Bulgaria, the new party of the former president Rumen Radev. The country faces ongoing political instability. The current essay sheds light on the central misrepresentations in the portrayal of the protests and underlying structural issues in Bulgarian politics based on the analysis of state documents, media coverage, corruption investigation cases, and digital observations.
By
Alexandra Brankova
April 23, 2026
I have been monitoring academic freedom and institutional autonomy in the region for the past few decades. Hungary stood out […]
By
Andrea Petö
April 20, 2026
In this paper, the AfD is examined in an attempt to understand the success of the populist party in the recent referendum on the European Union. It is a rhetorical analysis in that the election results are interpreted embedded in its rhetorical situation. Given this result, the success in the eastern parts of Germany has been attributed to the socialization of the GDR-era and the dashed hopes after reunification. It is a lack of confidence in this aspect of democracy that provides a breeding ground for parties like the AfD, which they know how to exploit through the use of alternative fora such as TikTok and Twitter on which they promote their ideas on new boundaries and alternative governance.
Essay by
Lisa Källström
June 19, 2024
Referendums have been extensively analyzed from multiple perspectives and different studies have discussed their various features and types and how different actors use them. However, little attention has been paid to investigating the reasons why political elites (i.e., European presidents) initiate referendums. Thus, this article explores the intentions and aims by analyzing 18 referendums called by European presidents from 2000 to 2020. Secondary sources, such as media reporting, official documents, and scientific works, have been analyzed using a
comparative case study approach. The results indicate that presidents usually have strategic objectives when they call referendums, and that the initiation of a referendum is influenced by the anticipated short- or long-term effects that could result from the referendum.
By
Paul Tap
June 20, 2023
The 2021 Duma Elections have confirmed the Kremlin’s increased reliance on repression and manipulation to obtain the desired results. The 2021 elections show the top-down management of Russia’s electoral authoritarianism to be efficient. With electoral outcomes comprehensively managed, Russia’s political system has never before so closely resembled that of Belarus.
By
Matthew Blackburn
October 4, 2021
On June 20, 2021, Armenia will hold an early parliamentary election, two years earlier than the ordinary scheduled one for December 9, 2023. The election is in reality a vote of confidence for the incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and necessitated by the political crisis which emerged in the aftermath of the Nagorno Karabakh war in 2020.
By
Vahagn Avedian
June 14, 2021
The author has analyzed the coverage of the 30th anniversary of the Roundtable Agreement and June elections in Polish newspapers of all political hues. Additionally several official speeches held in connection with the commemorations have been scrutinized. The goal has been to examine the uses of memory of 1989 in Polish politics of 2019 and highlight the strategic choices and constraints faced by mnemonic actors in this context. Thus, the study presented may be seen as a follow-up to Bernhard’s and Kubik’s investigation conducted ten years ago. However, this analysis expands the focus of Bernhard’s and Kubik’s work by paying special attention to cultural constraints on politics of memory. Thus, the aim is both to give insight into contemporary politics of memory in Poland in relation to the recent past and contribute to the more general understanding of how culture works in politics of memory.
By
Barbara Törnquist-Plewa
April 21, 2021
While in the past there has generally been an atmosphere of resigned acceptance after the election, this time countless Belarusians went out on the streets to contest the results. The dynamics of the protest clearly illustrate its main goal is not to ensure Svitlana Tsikhanauskaya becomes the head of state, but rather to guarantee Lukashenka does not stay in this position. One factor that played a particularly important role was the way that President Lukashenka was handling the COVID-19 crisis. Nonetheless, it was Tsikhanauskaya’s campaign that made people actually vote – because it gave them hope they could influence political affairs.
By
Sofie Bedford
September 7, 2020
Presidential elections were formally held in Poland on Sunday, May 10, 2020, but in practice no election took place and no ballots were cast. The distinction between what happens formally and what takes place in practice has become more and more important for Polish politics and public life.
By
Jaakko Turunen
May 19, 2020
Unsurprisingly, the ruling People’s Democratic Party, won Tajikistan’s parliamentary elections on March 1, 2020. The election campaign was a muted affair. No previous Tajik election has been judged free and fair by legitimate international observers. The Central Election Commission stated that the elections were open and transparent, and reported that it received no reports of violations. But independent observers reported a slew of violations, including ballot stuffing and proxy voting.
By
Edward Lemon and Oleg Antonov
April 7, 2020
Issue 2026, 1: 
Baltic Worlds covers; the Baltic Sea Region, Eastern Europe, Russia, CentralAsia, Caucasus and the Balkan area.