The rule of law anchors accountable government. It limits power, protects rights, and shields institutions from capture. Across Central and Eastern Europe, reformers and illiberal leaders now fight over it. They clash on judicial independence, anti-corruption, and constitutional checks. This hub follows those fights. It tracks threats to independent courts. It covers the erosion of checks and balances. It follows corruption and state capture. Anti-corruption drives aim to claw back captured institutions. Efforts to restore checks and balances test how far reform can go. State capture remains the core risk in several member states. The EU rule of law framework and European Union values anchor the defense of democracy. EU rule of law rules also tie EU funds to reform. Fellows and analysts show where reform holds and where it bends. Explore analysis and commentary on the rule of law, judicial independence, and anti-corruption.
Rule of Law
Ukraine’s Parliament will face a moment of truth when it meets on April 10.
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August 21, 2018
Putin’s Viennese Waltz
Under the right-wing coalition government which took office in December, Austria has been rattling nerves at home and abroad. It has infuriated Italy by offering passports to German-speakers in South Tirol, reopening a long-buried feud over the former Austro-Hungarian territory’s ethnic and linguistic identity. It has infuriated Israel, and observant Jews, by scheduling an EU summit that will start […]
July 3, 2018
Avoiding Fake Deals With Moscow
In the usual scenario, an incoming U.S. President believes that he can be more successful than his predecessor in establishing a partnership with Russia’s leader. Trust is declared, promises are made, deals are struck, and Moscow’s previous acts of aggression against its neighbors are overlooked. This new détente gives cover for the Kremlin to prepare […]
July 2, 2018
Revisiting the “Open Letter” to Obama in the Era of Trump
In fact, people have been worrying about Kremlin revisionism and mischief since the 1990s. Another error is to assume that Donald Trump’s surprise election victory in 2016 undermined a previously solid European security order. True, the U.S. president’s reported off-the-cuff remarks can sound alarmingly ill-informed: “NATO is as bad as NAFTA;” the European Union was created […]
June 18, 2018
Don’t Play Risk With Europe
Edward Lucas explains why the West should not treat the "in-between" states as objects on a gameboard.
May 21, 2018
Don’t Blame the Voters for Populism
Central Europe is going backwards, with populism and nationalism on the rise. That is the consensus among many opinion leaders in Western Europe and North America.
April 30, 2018
Shell Game
It is time to shine the light on Russian dark money.