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NL New EU rules on political ads: protecting democracy or fighting symptoms?
Source: Wikimedia Commons This article was posted as part of our work in the Dutch Democracy Coalition. This project was created with support from Democracy & Media Foundation. This article is based on conversations with Pieter van Boheemen (Post-X Society) and Alice Stollmeyer (Defend Democracy) about the impact of new EU regulations on political advertisements and resilience [...].
In conversation about Disinformation in Election Time
This article was posted as part of our work in the Dutch Democracy Coalition. This project was created with support from Democracy & Media Foundation. Last Monday, 27 October, the Dutch Democracy Coalition (NDC) engaged with students and interested parties at VU University Amsterdam on disinformation, deception and the role of [...]
Africa Day 2025: A New Global Order - Tickets now available!
Afrikadag, the largest event in the Netherlands on Africa and international cooperation, returns on Saturday 15 November 2025 at Pakhuis de Zwijger Amsterdam. This year, Afrikadag celebrates a special milestone: the 30th edition! The theme of 2025 is "Africa in a New World Order". As global powers vie for influence, African countries claim their place on [...]
Europe's future in the hands of the Western Balkans
Source: Shutterstock It was not to be missed, the NATO summit in The Hague last week. With security on high alert in The Hague, tensions in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine, there was plenty to discuss around the forums. Besides the 5% NATO standard, it was reiterated that Russia is the biggest threat to NATO countries. [...]
Our Statement on Serbia during 'Friends of the Western Balkans'
Amid growing concerns about the deterioration of democracy in Serbia, the Friends of the Western Balkans (FoWB) gathered in Ljubljana for their seventh meeting. This network of progressive politicians, civil society leaders and social democrats from across Europe had one clear goal: to express their support for the region's European future. This [...]
"The Belarusian revolution is not over - we are still in the middle"
Organisers and members of the liquidated party BSDP-Hramada in The Hague, March 2025 Last Thursday and Friday, March 27 and 28, FMS had the pleasure of hosting the chairman and vice-chairman of the liquidated social democratic party BSDP-Hramada. The liquidated BSDP-Hramada (from here on 'Hramada') was founded in 1991 and has been operating from exile since 2023, when [...]
The social democratic perspective on the growing protest movement in Serbia
Photo: FMT The FMS, in collaboration with International Foundation GroenLinks, has started a series on the Serbian anti-corruption protests. During this series, we highlight different sides of the protests, and this time we cover the social democratic perspective. Last Saturday, 15 March, the largest (student) protests in Serbia to date took place, with more than 300,000 people in attendance. [...]
Green ambitions in the textile industry: who wins, who loses?
Photo: Textile factory in Malaysia - Free Malaysia Today Is the fire of second-hand clothes at the textile market in Ghana on 30 January the wake-up call the garment industry needs? While the flames show the impact of uncontrolled textile waste, the European garment industry remains one of the biggest polluters. After food, housing and mobility, European textile consumption has [...]
Ukraine and the redefinition of sovereignty
Source: FMT In the week of 14 March 2022, a few weeks after Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Time Magazine published an issue entitled The Return of History. This was a clear reference to Francis Fukuyama's famous work The End of History and the Last Man, in which he argued that liberal democracy after the fall of the [...]
Visiting Germany: 'For the SPD, this is a disappointing result'
Campaign sign in Kleve with current Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) On 23 February, the German parliamentary elections took place. As expected, the CDU/CSU emerged victorious, while the far-right AfD finished second. The SPD came third, a hard blow for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party. "The worst result since the [...]