Between Elon Musk's meddling and Romania's election rollercoaster, the state of Europe's democracies feels a little scary at the start of 2025. This week we talk to Tom Theuns, author of a new book about Europe's failure to stop the slow slide towards autocracy so far and what we can do to fix it. 

 

Tom is a senior assistant professor of political theory and European politics at Leiden University. You can find out all about his book, 'Protecting Democracy in Europe', here, and follow him on Bluesky here. 

 

This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: 'My Favourite Cake' and 'La Chimera'. 

 

Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work in 2025. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. 

 

We're also crowdfunding our new series, 'Who Does It Best?', which will delve into the most imaginative policies around Europe. We're 96% of the way there! You can find out all about our plans for the series, and help us start making it, at https://4fund.com/z/europeanspodcast. 

 

Other resources for this episode: 

 

Ada Colau's amazing Instagram post

 

Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak 

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

 

00:23 The headwinds of 2025

02:48 Bad Week: Fireworks

11:50 Good Week: Greenland's pro-independence movement

22:31 Interview: Tom Theuns on protecting Europe's democracies

38:01 The Inspiration Station: 'My Favourite Cake' and 'La Chimera'

43:13 Happy Ending: Ada Colau's amazing Instagram post

 

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