The Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) and the FREE Network wish to extend heartfelt greetings to the brave people of Ukraine on National Independence Day, August 24.

Johanna Rickne, Affiliated Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics, has been awarded the prestigious SNS Prize 2023 for her outstanding research on economic and political gender equality.

In this brief, Jonathan Lehne and Maiting Zhuang examines the fragility of democratic institutions in Eastern Europe, comparing expert assessments and general population surveys. Experts' concerns have intensified, yet voters in almost all new EU member states and across age groups express growing satisfaction with their democracies. The study reveals a shift where people's perception of democracy is increasingly influenced by election outcomes rather than actual institutional change, even when media freedom or judicial independence is restricted by governments.

In May members of the Center for Statecraft and Strategic Communication travelled to Washington, DC with the students of Applied History 767: World Order & Present Challenges. Designed by Center Director Dr. Rikard Westerberg, this globetrotting course has been offered since 2019 and sees students from the Stockholm School of Economics embark on a deep dive of statecraft, diplomacy and international history.

The Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) and the Forum for Research on Media and Democracy in Eastern Europe (FROMDEE) invites paper submissions to a one-day conference on “Democratic backsliding and electoral autocracies” with a keynote lecture by Arturas Rozenas (New York University) on 13 October 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden.

On April 19th, 2023, the Center for Statecraft and Strategic Communication hosted a highly engaging event, "StratCom Lunch with Henrik Landerholm - A New Era of National Security." As Sweden's National Security Advisor, Mr. Landerholm provided valuable insights on building a National Security Council in today's complex world.

In this brief SITE researchers, Anna Anisimova and Cecilia Smitt Meyer, present a short overview of some of the most important statistics on Russia’s economic performance no longer publicly available. They also discuss some alternative measures to track the Russian economy which can be used to provide more accurate assessments of the effect of sanctions and thus reduce the impact of Russia’s data warfare.

Mara Bălașa sheds light in Engelsberg Ideas on the complexities of the partnership between Romania and NATO, as well as the potential threats that could impact this alliance.

Att Sverige ensamt skulle ha förmåga och ekonomisk kapacitet att utveckla ännu ett inhemskt producerat stridsflygplan verkar inte realistiskt. Regeringen måste därför ta tillfället i akt att stärka det säkerhetspolitiska samarbetet med partner i Europa och Japan, skriver Patrik Ström, chef European Institute of Japanese Studies, Handelshögskolan i Stockholm.

Russian history is marked by oppression, with the war in Ukraine serving as a painful reminder. However, in the last 170 years, there have been moments of hope for the country. SSE student and Applied History course alumn, Isak Axelson explores three periods of liberalization in Russia that provide valuable lessons.