Will the EU survive in 2017? Join our academic editor Dr Sara Hagemann and other distinguished commentators for this exciting panel organised by the LSE European Institute.

The real issue is not about political instability, but about financial stability, write Lorenzo Codogno & Mara Monti

Italians should back the constitutional reform – there is no guarantee this opportunity will arise again | Marco Simoni

What does the Trump triumph mean for journalism, politics and social media? LSE's Charlie Beckett unpacks the various stages of the blame narrative that has unfolded in the wake of Trump's victory.

Much of the coverage of Bulgaria’s presidential election has focused on what the victory of Rumen Radev means for the country moving forward. But as Manès Weisskircher and Julia Rone illustrate, the election also saw success for radical right parties who are now well placed to make an impact at snap elections next year.

The end of the Cold War in the early 1990s saw democracy surge, but the past decade has seen a reversal in this trend, with authoritarianism and dictatorships making a comeback around the world. Is the West complicit in this trend? Brian Klaas interviewed on his new book, 'The Despot's Accomplice':

"Some might be reassured by the UK government’s avowed determination to avoid a return to ‘the borders of the past’, and there is certainly a determination among most interested parties in Northern Ireland to maintain the current ‘soft’ border regime. But it is difficult to square such intentions with the implications of a ‘hard’ Brexit – with the restrictions on free movement that will likely entail."

We are publishing the results of a new survey on #Italy's constitutional referendum: support for the reform declines when it is explicitly linked to the government.

Is Europe facing a lurch toward populism and, if so, does this trend pose a threat for democracy? | Richard Youngs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

"The #Brexit hardware build is coming along but the software is barely at the beta stage." - Richard Whitman - University of Kent

"It is normal to have reservations over particular aspects of a package of reforms − when such a comprehensive reform is passed, with such a complex procedure and several compromises in parliament, inconsistencies are unavoidable − but the overall result is that we would get closer to more ‘normal’ parliamentary systems. If the reform is rejected, we remain outliers. This is why I think we should approve it." - Mattia Guidi

After almost a year of political deadlock, Mariano Rajoy has formed a new minority government in Spain, but how effective will this new government prove to be? Bonnie N. Field states that although previous minority governments have faced better governing conditions than the current one, the Rajoy government still has institutional advantages and some bargaining chips that it can use to its advantage.

"The fear of political correctness has led to the fear of political incorrectness. Changing this must be our priority, with our energies positively directed towards a unitary consensus that resists division with confidence." - Tahir Abbas, RUSI - Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies

On 20 and 27 November, the French right will select its candidate for the 2017 presidential election. While formally a seven candidate race, polls indicate that the real battle is between former president Nicolas Sarkozy and former prime minister and mayor of Bordeaux Alain Juppé. But can either candidate see off the challenge of Marine Le Pen?