“Social cohesion” and the “social contract” are two related analytical concepts, which have become increasingly popular among researchers and practitioners. Both concepts help to understand and characterise societies and countries by shedding light on the relationships between members...

The European Union (EU) approach to migration in Africa has significantly shifted in the last few years. Notably since 2015, it has focused on preventing irregular migration and privileges engagement with the main countries of origin and transit of migrants. In the context of the 2015 Joint...

Enhancing the coherence between migration and climate action policy within the European Union’s internal and external policy should be a priority in the context of the envisaged green transition in the European Union. This report argues that the European Green Deal, which is a focus of this...

In June 2012 the EU set up the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) with the aim of supporting pro-democracy actors predominantly in the European Neighbour-hood and of doing so quickly, flexibly, unbureaucratically and audaciously. But wish-ful thinking and reality are still separated by a...

The EU has made democracy support a stronger aspect in its relations with African countries since 2002. However, a broad range of political and economic dynamics within as well as outside of Europe challenge democracy and its supporters: the rise of non-democratic countries such as China,...

This empirical analysis investigates whether and to what extent social cohesion and the coverage of social protection schemes influence governments' decisions about the stringency of COVID-19 containment policies during the first and second waves in 2020 in Africa. Our results indicate that...