Think Tank Review - Issue 41/2016

This month we are publishing issue 41 of the Think Tank Review compiled by the EU Council Library. This issue references papers published in November 2016. As usual, we provide the link to the full text and a short abstract.

• Click to open TTR 41

In the 'EU Politics and Institutions' section, notwithstanding several substantial contributions, we have included a speech entitled 'For an ambitious Europe' delivered by Jean-Claude Juncker during the debate organised to mark the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Jacques Delors Institute, and a paper by the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (Social Science Research Centre Berlin) on the response of new pro-European think tanks to the EU integration crisis.

In the 'EU Member States' section, those with a specific interest in France will find a rich selection of content, with contributions on the financial and political feasibility of a universal income, on decentralisation, on the relationship between the police and the public, and on whether or not voters put sufficient thought into their votes. But there are also some interesting reflections on Italy's constitutional referendum, populism in Austria, and youth unemployment and job insecurity in Spain. We would also like to share with our readers a stimulating read by Philip Herzog entitled 'Le Brexit va bouleverser l’Europe'.

The section on 'EU policies' proposes, among many other contributions, discussions on the free movement of Europeans (a paper with a foreword by António Vitorino), on the economic costs of insufficient sleep, and on the future of work and its challenges for men and women.

In the 'Foreign Affairs' section, you will find various examples of think tanks looking into gender issues, with papers on feminism in China, Afghan women and violent extremism, and political finance and the equal participation of women in Colombia.

The special focus in this issue is the aftermath of the US election, with papers concentrating on transatlantic relations, EU trade and security under the new US executive, and what the Trump presidency will mean for Europe.

You will find an analysis by Joseph E. Stiglitz and Mark Pieth on overcoming the shadow economy in the 'Miscellaneous' section.

As we approach the end of 2016, we would like to express our gratitude to the researchers and think tanks around the world whose publications have kept our minds sharp and active throughout the year. Special congratulations go to those who were selected as winners of the Prospect Think Tank of the Year awards 2016.

We would like to wish our readers a nice and relaxed end-of-year break — and remember, the Think Tank Review will be back in January 2017 to present papers published in December 2016.