Publications

(Matthew Donoghue, Mikko Kuisma, eds.: December 2020) With the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, it is appropriate to reflect on the future social pathways now open to the European Union, made more possible perhaps by the UK’s exit. For example, could Brexit result in an EU in which considerations of social citizenship and rights are elevated up the agenda in Brussels? Could the EU’s focus hitherto on ever-closer economic union and international competitiveness be shifted towards the European Pillar of Social Rights so as to strengthen it, make it more tangible in citizens’ lives and central to a renewed EU agenda?

Jean-Pierre Maulny, Marius Müller-Hennig, Neil Melvin, Malcolm Chalmers (November 2020): Brexit poses a risk for Euro­pean Security as the highly institutionalised relations based on EU membership change, and prevailing cer­tainties seem to disappear. In order to maintain a close relationship on foreign and security policy, smaller and more infor­mal alliances like the E3, a setting of trilateral relations between the UK, France and Germany, will gain importance.

Patrick Briône (October 2020): The COVID-19 crisis has led to major, unprecedented changes in UK working practice. while many on them might be temporary, some effects are likely to prove long lasting. New working patterns – such as a huge increase in remote working– require new approaches towards management. Employers need to pay more attention than ever to their workers’ physical and mental health. This report also considers the Good Work agenda and the value of work in the modern economy.

Des Freedman (September 2020): Public service broadcasting in the UK is fraying at the edg­es. Faced with increased competition from commercial ri­vals and ongoing pressure from hostile governments, broadcasters have failed to adequately safeguard their fu­ture in an environment marked by constant technological change and an increasingly distrustful audience. This brief­ing examines some of the recent developments and dilem­mas concerning major media companies like the BBC and ITV and outlines a plan of radical reform and modernisa­tion.

Antje Schneeweiß (June, 2020): This study firstly seeks to show, from a civil society perspective, how the human rights due diligence in the »green« EU taxonomy should be implemented. Second, it sets out a proposal for a »social taxonomy«. Both points are dealt with against the backdrop of the great lengths the EU has gone to since 2017 to steer private capital towards sustainable economic activities, putting together in the EU taxonomy a comprehensive definition of environmental sustainability (»green taxonomy«) for the key sectors.

Clive Lewis (February 2020): This publication is based on a speech given by Clive Lewis, Member of Parliament for Norwich South, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Good Society debate. It is a statement which details the challenges of social democracy, the future of Europe, and reflections on the Good Society.

Paul Mason (April 2020): Keir Starmer was announced as Labour’s new leader on 4 April 2020. A career human rights lawyer, his political strategy has been consistent since the 1980s: a socialism based on justice and wealth redistribution, a commitment to internationalism and a vision of the Labour Party as a vehicle for all oppressed and exploited sections of society. Starmer’s pitch to Labour’s estimated 580,000 active members is an end to factionalism. This briefing examines Starmer's positioning during the contest, and what challenges he faces as leader.

Christos Katsioulis (Dezember 2019): Das Vereinigte Königreich wählt am 12. Dezember ein neues Parlament. Labour ist in

einer besonders verzwickten Lage: die Position zum Brexit ist ein Balanceakt, Labour muss Wahlkreise mit Leave-Mehrheit ebenso verteidigen wie solche mit hohen Remain-Mehrheiten und Parteichef Corbyn ist extrem unbeliebt. Wie stellt sich Labour auf, um mit dieser Lage umzugehen?

On 7 March 2019, RUSI and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) hosted a half-day workshop. This brought together leading UK and German parliamentarians, and leading security and defence experts from both countries to discuss the most salient threats to European security. This report explores the two topics that were discussed on that day: Organising Security in Europe in Times of Insecure Alliances and How to Deal with Russia.

Patrick Briône (July 2019): Debate around a four-day week in the UK has been gathering momentum over the last two years, with the trade union movement and Labour Party recently joining calls to shorten the working week. A century of working time reductions in Britain has stalled since the 1980s but public appetite for a shorter working week has not gone away. With the UK facing a decade-long productivity crisis, concerns about presenteeism and a fear that a lot of time spent at work is unproductive, questions are now being seriously asked about whether it is time to push for more working time reductions. This joint report by the Involvement and Participation Association (IPA) and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung London sketches the huge potential of a four-day week, as well as the chief obstacles to its introduction.