On Thursday, January 29, the Stockholm School of Economics officially launched the Center for Migration and Integration Research (CMIR). The launch event brought together researchers, policymakers, business leaders, and representatives from civil society for an afternoon of dialogue on migration, integration, and social inclusion - some of the most pressing issues facing societies today.

Why do carbon and fuel taxes trigger political backlash? In a new policy brief, Julius Andersson (researcher at SITE) points to income polarization. As the middle class’s income share shrinks, the tax burden shifts toward middle-income groups – helping explain backlash such as the Yellow Vests protests and fuel-tax rollbacks.

In this reflective account, Sam Elfström, an alumnus of the Applied History course, shares insights from an intensive week in the YROW program, highlighting the value of cross-sector exchange, lessons from Ukraine’s wartime resilience, and the growing strategic importance of Europe’s southern neighborhood.

Interest in careers within the European Union is growing, yet Swedish graduates remain underrepresented in EU institutions. To help bridge that gap, Therese Hartman Liungman and Lovisa Areskoug Eriksson, both second-year students in the Bachelor in Business & Economics program, work as EU career student ambassadors.

Rising tensions between the US and China are changing how companies design global supply chains in strategic industries such as semiconductors and rare earths. New research shows firms are no longer just reacting to trade rules – they are proactively redesigning supply chains to reduce political risk and secure access to critical technologies.

What shapes social cohesion under extreme pressure - and what sustains resilience during war? On January 19, 2026, the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) hosted Ukrainian sociologist Tymofii Brik (Kyiv School of Economics), who drew on nearly three decades of survey evidence to trace how trust, identity, and political attitudes in Ukraine have evolved before and during Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Russia has ramped up its outreach to African countries since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, hoping to soften international isolation and gain new partners. This new policy brief analysis by Maria Perrotta Berlin (SITE) and Lev Lvovskiy (BEROC) argues that the strategy is bringing Moscow only limited and uneven gains.

New research from the Center for Statecraft and Strategic Communication (CSSC) by Dr. Rikard Westerberg has been featured in Dagens Industri, highlighting historical links between the Wallenberg sphere and intelligence cooperation in Sweden.

Ukraine and Moldova’s push to join the European Union is tied to security, rebuilding economies, and protecting democracy while facing Russian pressure. A new policy brief by Anastasiia Arbuzova and Anders Olofsgård, based off last year’s SITE Development Day, discusses what’s helping the two countries move forward and what could still derail them.

Ukraine NEAR is a collaboration between the SSE and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. and funded by the Swedish Institute. SSE faculty recently returned from delivering workshops for Ukrainian government officials in central Kyiv.