Dossiers
The Reformist Pope
November/November 2025
Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s choice of the name Francis immediately signaled the doctrinal orientation of his pontificate. Following in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi, the new Bishop of Rome embraced three guiding principles: love for the poor, care for our common home, and a commitment to a culture of encounter and peace. Although critics sometimes labeled this approach as populist, Pope Francis explicitly rejected that characterization. In truth, his outlook was open, transnational, and pluralistic—the very opposite of European populist movements. From his earliest symbolic gestures—refusing the papal apartments and embracing migrants in Lampedusa—Bergoglio embodied a “Church that goes forth,” one that engages the world not with doctrinal arrogance, but with a spirit of service. His language, stripped of curial formalism, brought the papacy closer to the people, while his identity as the pope “from the ends of the earth” shifted the Church’s center of gravity away from Europe toward the world’s peripheries, fostering a new alliance among faiths, cultures, and peoples. In this dossier, we offer a series of reflections on the legacy of his pontificate and the future prospects of the Church.
  • Divorce Between Capitalism and Democracy?
    Brown, Calloni, Felice, Galli, Giachetti, Salvati, Volpi, Ypi
    Today, the compromises that once allowed democracy to coexist with a well-regulated capitalism no longer seem to work. On the contrary, politics is becoming increasingly incapable of offering effective responses to the dissatisfaction and marginalization felt by large segments of the population — the old middle class, precarious and underpaid workers — while capitalist developments, beginning with the new digital economy, are deepening inequality, concentrating wealth and power to a remarkable degree, and showing signs of a retreat from territorial roots. This process of patrimonialization and neo-feudalization combines with autocratic tendencies in political power. The phenomenon is particularly evident in the United States, but it is far from unknown elsewhere, in countries both small (such as Hungary) and large (such as Russia). How should we rethink the relationship between capitalism and democracy? Can liberal democracy survive in an age of stagnation and widening inequality? What held the welfare state and the free market together in the postwar years—was it a unique historical interlude or a model that can be replicated? Has globalization now made the mechanisms of financial capitalism incompatible with national democratic processes? Are liberal elites to blame for failing to manage the economic transformations—globalization, offshoring, automation—that have fueled populism and authoritarianism? And is it still possible to correct course within the existing system, or does the moment demand a radical reconfiguration—and if so, how?
  • Migration, Citizenship and Disempowerment: The Roots
    of a Liberal Defeat
    Trump’s reelection personified a profound sense of disempowerment and disenfranchisement among many Americans. The constitutional patriotism that once anchored the nation’s cultural fabric is eroding, leaving citizens feeling that the boundaries of belonging no longer provide the support or cohesion they need. This void has been filled by inflammatory rhetoric and the scapegoating of migrants and minorities, reducing public discourse to a cacophony of accusations. What steps can the Left take to address these demands directly? Is there a path for populism to find a home on the Left, or has the idea of solidarity been irrevocably claimed by an ethnonationalist movement?
  • The Far Right’s Ascent in Europe
    Across Europe, far-right parties are gaining ground like never before since World War II, reshaping political landscapes and cultural narratives. From coalition governments to influential parliamentary blocs, their rise reflects deep-seated shifts in societal dynamics. What factors have fueled this surge? How have traditional parties and evolving cultural identities contributed to the far right’s growing appeal? What does it mean for Europe’s future? This dossier delves into the complex dynamics behind the far right’s ascent and the challenges it presents to European democracy.  
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    The Sad Arc of Indian Democracy
    India’s general elections kick off today and will be held in phases through June 1, with results to be announced on June 4. Despite a decade-long erosion of rights and the hollowing out of democratic institutions, most polls predict a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party for a third consecutive five-year term. What does an India heading to the polls look like in 2024? How has ten years of BJP rule shaped the world’s largest democracy?
  • Russia-Ukraine: Is There Any Room for Compromise?
    Where does the current crisis come from, and can there be any political solution? Five world-renowned post-Sovietic geopolitics scholars and journalists respond in this Dossier derived from the recent Reset DOC roundtable: José Casanova, Andrea Graziosi, Nataliya Gumeniuk, Alexander Motyl and Frank Sysyn.
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    French Laïcité, Freedom of Speech and the Return of the Islamist Threat
    The terrorist murder of French professor Samuel Paty in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in autumn 2020 has re-opened a heated debate concerning the liberty of teaching, freedom of expression, and the role of secularism in a pluralist society. What is the specific nature of French laïcité, and how has it changed over time since its juridical establishment in 1905? How does it compare with other Western approaches to secularism and, most critically, with Muslim perspectives on the matter? Why has this provoked a diplomatic dispute between France and Turkey, and more broadly the boycott of French products in many Muslim countries?
  • Rethinking Museums in the Era of Black Lives Matter
    As the Black Lives Matter protests have rocked the US and much of the West over 2020, the fight against public traces of an unforgotten era of North-South domination has gained the center of the battleground in public debate – at least for a few months. A push that adds pressure and calls to serious reflection many Western cultural institutions, and one type of them most importantly: ethnographic museums. From Paris to Geneva, from Tervuren to Berlin or Milan, all “museums of civilizations” – as they are now increasingly known – have been grappling for years with issues such as restitution, contextualization, ownership and a complete rethinking of their own mission. This Dossier looks at this very challenge, one in which questions and pressures are far more clear than answers. Together with a piece outlining in detail what is at stake, readers will ‘hear’ voices, and experiences, on the matter from Europe as well as Africa.
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    Erdogan’s Turkey and the West after Hagia Sophia
    A week after the “re-inauguration” of Hagia Sophia as a mosque, diplomacies are still struggling to understand the full implications of the shocking and yet largely expected choice by Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. But beyond the radars of the international attention, the move and its internal welcoming confirm the uncontented grip he continues to have on Turkey, driving it towards an increasingly nationalist, anti-modern path. In this Dossier, we explore the rationale behind those choices, the implications for regional affairs, as well as those on religious pluralism worldwide. For policy-makers on both sides of the Atlantic, there is much to care about, and some dire practical recommendations to take into account.
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