European defence cooperation is expanding rapidly in response to geopolitical instability, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to growing uncertainty about the long-term reliability of transatlantic security guarantees. New financing instruments, industrial policies, and coordination mechanisms are accelerating the development of a more integrated European defence architecture. Yet institutional reforms and funding alone cannot sustain this transformation. Defence remains one of the most politically sensitive domains of governance in Europe, touching directly on sovereignty, public spending, and national identity. As cooperation deepens, its viability will increasingly depend on how these policies are communicated to and understood by European citizens. In a fragmented information environment marked by disinformation and strategic competition, public opinion itself becomes a critical arena of security governance. Building European defence therefore requires not only stronger institutions and industrial capacity, but also clearer public communication capable of sustaining democratic legitimacy.

Human fertility is falling more widely and faster than previously recognized. Sustained demographic decline has the potential to destabilize the foundations on which modern democracies are built. Pension systems, urban planning, fiscal structures, labor markets, and innovation ecosystems all rely on stable or growing cohorts. When each generation is smaller than the last, age structures distort and dependency ratios rise, and geographic, wealth, innovation and economic imbalances will intensify. These pressures will strain the social contract and institutional legitimacy. Treating demographic decline as a secondary or distant issue risks embedding structural fragility into democratic systems. Governments and the UN should recognize sustained below-replacement fertility as a long-term stability challenge and respond with the same seriousness accorded to other global catastrophic risks.

Democratic capacity determines whether societies withstand shocks or fracture under them. Systems with accountable leadership, strong legitimate institutional capacity, and real public participation objectively plan better, respond faster, and avoid the worst disaster outcomes. Where these foundations erode, crises escalate, recovery can falter, and instability ultimately compounds. In an era of catastrophic risks, democratic backsliding is a direct driver of societal fragility, and our democracies may not be able to adequately face the challenges of the 21st century without strengthening our democratic systems themselves.

European cities are more advanced compared with North American ones in reconciling the automobile with sustainable, liveable urban areas. But on both sides of the Atlantic there is more to do to address the high costs of mass automobile parking and over-reliance on private vehicles for urban journeys.

Outdated diplomatic orthodoxy is blocking Somaliland’s role in stabilizing the Horn of Africa. A pragmatic shift is urgently needed to reflect the territory’s de facto governance and relieve mounting displacement pressures. Recognition or functional inclusion would unlock access to aid, security cooperation, and climate finance, tools Somaliland already has the capacity to use. Failing to act leaves migration unmanaged, maritime routes exposed, and one of the most stable actors in the region excluded from solutions.

Outdated and over-precautionary safety regulation is holding back nuclear power. A bold rethink is urgently needed to enable capacity expansion at lower cost. This is vital to unlock nuclear’s unique potential to meet fast-rising demand for reliable, affordable electricity while also driving down greenhouse gas emissions.

A century ago, amid famine and revolution, the US mounted a huge humanitarian relief mission, feeding millions in Soviet Russia. As the war in Ukraine drags on, this forgotten act reminds us that compassion is not weakness but geopolitical wisdom.

Large-language models are being used intensively by both sides in the Ukraine war, demonstrating their potential for offensive propaganda, but also how far they can help defend against political disinformation. Can AI help democracies win the information war?