In November 2010, Myanmar saw the first poll in 20 years. Even though the main military-backed party claimed victory, for the first time since it came to power the military regime yielded to the opposition forces. A civilian power took over from the Junta, marking the first transition to democracy. This sudden political transition sparked the most significant political and economic reforms that the country has witnessed for the past half decade. Read more

Following the repeated warnings of climatologists, tax systems for limiting carbon emissions are more and more numerous. They all have one principle: the integration of negative externalities in terms of climate damage into prices linked to CO2 emissions (polluter-pays principle). How does it function in practice? How efficient is it? Several questions have been raised by the project of creating a French carbon tax and a European one. Read more

On 13 July 2011 VoteWatch.eu launched its new report on voting behaviour of MEPs, their political groups, and the national delegations within those groups. At a panel discussion in Brussels, MEPs from different political groups debated the report that was presented by Professor Simon Hix. This article looks at the findings of the report and tries to analyse them with an emphasis on certain national delegations. Read more

The EU’s foreign policy has sometimes been described as imperialist. However, the latest crisis in Libya demonstrates once more the EU’s resemblance to an Unidentified Political Object (UPO), with little sense of direction. Yet, should we put our heads in the sand and resign? No, it is high time the EU adopted a clear strategy and positioned itself in the international system of the 21st century. Rather than an empire or an UPO the EU could become a regional Ordnungsmacht. Read more